Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party leader S. T. Hasan on Tuesday raised serious concerns over the conduct of the West Bengal Assembly elections, alleging irregularities in the voting process and asserting that opposition disunity ultimately worked in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking to IANS on the election results in West Bengal, Hasan claimed that there were large-scale discrepancies during the polls, including the deletion of voters’ names and the denial of voting rights to lakhs of people.
“It certainly feels, given the manner in which votes were allegedly stolen during the election, the way around 92 lakh votes were struck off, and subsequently how nearly 32 lakh people were deprived of their right to vote, that we had realised then and there that Mamata Didi (Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) would not be able to return to power,’ he alleged.
He further alleged that the Election Commission of India failed to conduct impartial elections, suggesting that the outcome reflected not just the BJP’s performance but also the role of the poll body. “This victory belongs to both the BJP and the Election Commission,” he remarked, questioning the fairness of the electoral process.
Hasan, however, acknowledged that anti-incumbency may have played a role in the results, pointing out that Banerjee has been in power for over 15 years. “Some level of anti-incumbency is natural when a leader has been Chief Minister for such a long time, but not to the extent that has been witnessed in this election,” he said.
Casting doubts over the outcome, he added: “Whether Mamata Didi lost or was made to lose, the entire country knows what happened with her”, indicating his belief that factors beyond electoral dynamics influenced the result.
The Samajwadi Party leader also emphasised the need for unity among opposition parties to counter the BJP’s growing dominance. ”If the opposition does not unite, the BJP will continue to benefit. The communal atmosphere in the country will cross all extremes,” he warned.
(IANS)
