Suvendu alleges rigging, says Mamata 'pressurised' officials to defeat BJP in Arambagh LS election

Purba Medinipur (West Bengal) [India], April 1 : BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of electoral malpractices and said she had "pressurised" district officials in Arambagh Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections so that "votes in 16 EVMs are not counted" and BJP is defeated.
TMC candidate Aparupa Poddar had won the seat by a narrow margin.
Talking to ANI, Adhikari also accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of rigging Jhargram and Purulia Zilla Parishad elections.
He said 90 per cent of the votes in Nandigram have gone to BJP.
Adhikari is fighting against Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram seat and the contest has evoked wide interest. Nandigram and 29 other seats went to the polls on Thursday in the second phase of assembly polls.
Adhikari accused Mamata Banerjee of not following democratic norms.
"The word democracy does not suit her. She stopped the election of college student unions and school managing committees. She did not conduct elections for municipal corporations for two years and appointed her partymen as administrators. In the last parliamentary election, the BJP candidate was defeated in Arambag. Mamata Banerjee pressurised DM and SDO so that 16 EVMs were not counted in Arambagh," Adhikari told ANI.
"BJP had won Jhargram and Purulia Zilla Parishads but votes for the lotus symbol were replaced with the TMC symbol overnight," he added.
Aparupa Poddar of Trinamool Congress won from Arambagh defeating BJP's Tapan Kumar Ray by 1,142 votes.
Asked about Mamata Banerjee raising questions over Prime Minister's rallies on Thursday in Bengal, he said campaigning is allowed in any area other than the polling constituencies.
"Further, the Prime Minister is not contesting by himself. What has she done? She violated the code of conduct by campaigning after cut-off time in Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari also rejected Trinamool Congress allegations about any specific instructions to central forces.
"None of the central forces helped the BJP. They rather stopped the goons of TMC. I was roaming booth-to-booth since morning. She was taking rest. Then in the afternoon, she went to one booth and disrupted the polling for two hours. So much audacity is not good," he said.
Asked about Mamata Banerjee's phone call to the state Governor, the BJP leader said the Governor has no role in the election and accused her of 'dramabazi'.
"It is only the Election Commission that oversees everything. It is a total dramabaazi to get publicity. Ninety per cent of the votes have gone to BJP in Nandigram."
The second phase of polling in the state saw over 80 per cent voter turnout.