The Opposition Congress and CPI(M) sought directions from the Supreme Court to hold fresh polling for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, despite the constituency having already gone to the polls twice, party officials said on Wednesday.
Repolling was held on Sunday in 168 of the total 1,679 polling stations in the constituency after electoral malpractices were detected during the first round of voting held on the day before.
The CPI(M) sitting Lok Sabha MP and party candidate Sankar Prasad Datta said their lawyers, on the advice of the Supreme Court Vacation Bench, on Wednesday filed a writ petition in the Tripura High Court.
“The writ petition was filed in the Tripura High Court, which is yet to give a date of hearing for the case,” Mr. Datta said.
Tripura Pradesh Congress vice-president and senior lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas said that the writ petition filed in the apex court on Tuesday sought fresh polling at 433 of the 1,679 polling stations.
State Congress president Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarman said that despite the Returning Officer to the Tripura West seat in his report to the Election Commission having admitted that the election process was vitiated in 433 booths, re-polling was held at 168 stations.
“A team of senior lawyers led by senior Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi are doing the legal process to seek a direction from the apex court against the EC’s unjustified decision,” he said.
The CPI(M) and the Congress have been agitating for re-polling after they alleged a “large-scale rigging, booth capturing, intimidation and attacks by BJP activists” on April 11.
The BJP, however, has dismissed the allegations.
