Calcutta HC issues notice to all parties on plea by BJP’s Basirhat candidate

Kolkata, Aug 12 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Monday issued notices to all parties concerned acting on a petition filed by Arup Kanti Digar, the BJP candidate from Arambagh Lok Sabha constituency in Hooghly District in the last Lok Sabha elections.The single-judge Bench of Justice Bibhas Ranjan De, besides issuing the order to serve notices also directed preservation of all election-related documents including EVMs, postal ballots and CCTV footage, among others.Those to be served notices in the matter include the winning Trinamool Congress candidate from Arambagh, Mitali Bag.The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled on September 25 before which the notice will have to be served.In the last Lok Sabha election Bag defeated Digar by a margin of 6,399 votes.The BJP candidate alleged massive election malpractices and poll-related violence on polling day.Digar is among the five defeated BJP candidates who have filed petitions in the Calcutta High Court, the other four being Hiran Chatterjee from Ghatal in West Midnapore District, Rekha Patra from Basirhat in North 24 Parganas District, Abhijit Das from Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas District and Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar.While the other four candidates filed petitions alleging malpractices and rigging, Patra who is perceived as the face of the Sandeshkhali movement accused the winning Trinamool Congress candidate, Haji Nurul Islam, of suppressing information from the Election Commission of India.–IANSsrc/rad