Hours before the end of the fresh election campaign in West Bengal’s Valta Assembly seat on Tuesday, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Jehangir Khan said he would withdraw from the contest, citing Prime Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s announcement of the special package for the constituency.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered fresh elections in Valta on May 21 (Thursday) due to “serious electoral irregularities and subversion of the democratic process” during the second phase of the state assembly elections on April 29.
“I dreamed of Valta becoming Golden Valta. The Prime Minister said that a special package for Valta would be announced. That is why I will step down from contesting the re-referendum,” Khan said. “I am a son of the land. I step down to ensure peace and prosperity for Valta and its people.”
The announcement came while Adhikari was campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dibangshu Panda in Valta. TMC spokesman Jai Prakash Majumdar declined to comment.
An ECI official described the candidate’s decision to step down or withdraw from the competition as a personal decision.
The re-poll, the results of which will be announced on May 24, will be held days after the Bharatiya Janata Party won the assembly elections, winning 207 seats out of 293 seats. The Transitional Military Council won 80 seats.
Khan was in the news ahead of the second phase of elections on April 29 when a video of Ajay Pal Sharma, a police poll watcher, allegedly threatening the TMC candidate went viral. Khan then responded by saying that he was not afraid of threats.
The Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered that no coercive steps be taken until May 26 against Khan in the cases against him.
