Actor Roopa Ganguly whom the BJP was projecting as its face for the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections may not be able to contest the polls as she is not a voter from any municipal ward in the city.
The guidelines laid in The West Bengal Municipal Elections Act, 1994 debars any candidate who is not a voter of the municipality to contest the polls from the civic body.
“A person shall not be qualified for being chosen to fill a seat in the municipality unless such person is an elector in relation to that municipality,” the Act states. Ms Ganguly known for her role as Draupadi in the mega television serial Mahabharat was nominated by the BJP from ward number 96 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The development comes as a major embarrassment to the BJP. A BJP delegation also visited the office of the State Election Commission and tried to argue Ms Ganguly’s case without much success.
State BJP president Rahul Sinha told journalists that her name can be included in the voter list at the eleven hour making it possible for her to contest the polls.
“I have tried a number of times to get my name enlisted in the voter list here (in Kolkata) where I have been staying for 20 years. Suddenly in 2009-10, when the Trinamool Congress gained ground, my name was deleted. It was known to locals that I am not a Trinamool sympathiser,” Ms Ganguly said on Saturday.
Her voter identity card displays an address in Sonarpur South 24 Parganas district.
Owing to the technical issue that has come up, Ms Ganguly has not been able to file her nomination papers so far. She joined the party in January this year and the BJP was riding heavily on her to boost the party prospects in the civic polls scheduled on April 18.
