Kolkata, 01 April (H.S.) : Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that newly appointed election officials were being tasked with rejecting the nomination papers of her party’s candidates and urged them to remain cautious while filing their papers.

Addressing an election rally at Nanoor in Birbhum district, Banerjee claimed that the election process had undergone significant changes with the deployment of new officials by the Election Commission.

“Everything has been changed and a new system has been put in place. The new officers appointed by the Election Commission have been given the responsibility of rejecting your nominations. So be very careful while filing your nomination papers,” she told party nominees.

The Chief Minister also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it was misusing central agencies for political gains. She also appealed particularly to women voters not to support the BJP, alleging that the party’s policies were against the interests of women.

Banerjee welcomed the observations of the Supreme Court on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and expressed satisfaction over the court’s remarks that those whose names have been deleted from the voters’ list would have the opportunity to appeal before the designated appellate authorities.

Later, while addressing another rally at Barotra, she alleged that BJP workers were seeking bank account details from people ahead of the elections. She cautioned people against sharing their banking information with anyone.

“This is a BJP plan to influence voters by transferring money before elections and then cheating them later,” she alleged.

Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh