The Congress celebration has emerged because the ‘biggest loser’ after the outcomes for the West Bengal State Legislative polls had been introduced on Sunday. While the celebration had joined fingers with its as soon as arch-rival the Communist celebration and the Islamist Indian Secular Front (ISF), Congress didn’t safe even a single seat. Interestingly, the grand outdated celebration’s political misfortune additional aggravated within the constituencies the place Rahul Gandhi campaigned.
It should be talked about that Rahul Gandhi had campaigned within the two constituencies of Goalpokhar and Matigira- Naxalbari on April 14, forward of the fifth section of the elections. While it grew to become evident from the election outcomes that the Congress celebration misplaced all the 92 seats it contested, a more in-depth evaluation of the information suggests a much bigger loss for Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. The Congress candidates, who contested from Goalpokar and Matigira-Naxalbari constituencies, not solely misplaced to its rival events but in addition the safety deposit.
According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, a candidate won’t be refunded his safety deposit by the Election Commission if the candidate fails to safe 1/sixth (16.67%) of the full legitimate votes. As such, the candidate has to forfeit his deposit to the nodal Election physique. It should be identified {that a} candidate has to pay ₹10,000 as a safety deposit for preventing elections for State Legislative meeting.
Congress loses deposit within the Goalpokhar constituency, the place Rahul Gandhi campaigned
As per the official outcomes printed on the web site of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Congress candidate from Goalpokhar, Masood Md. Naseem Ahsen, misplaced out to his counterparts within the BJP and Congress. The celebration managed to safe a complete of 19,391 votes (EVM and postal) out of 1,61,535 legitimate votes. Given that Ahsen secured solely 12% of the full legitimate votes, he needed to forfeit his safety. It should be talked about that Md. Ghulam Rabbani of the Trinamool Congress received the constituency with a whopping 65.4% of the votes.
Screengrab of the Election results of Goalpokhar Vidhan Sabha constituency
Rahul Gandhi sinks Congress’ safety deposit in Matigara-Naxalbari constituency
Congress suffered a serious blow within the Matigara-Naxalbari constituency as effectively the place Rahul Gandhi had addressed a ‘large gathering.’ The BJP candidate, Anandamay Barman, received the seat with a whopping 58.1% (139785) votes. While the TMC candidate got here second, Congress was but once more pushed to 3rd place. The celebration’s efficiency within the stated constituency was way more dismal than it was within the Goalpokhar constituency.
Congress candidate Sankar Malakar acquired solely 23,060 votes (EVM+postal) out of two,40,591 legitimate votes. In phrases of proportion, Congress acquired solely 9.58% votes, far decrease than the 16.67% threshold. As such, Malakar too needed to forfeit his safety deposit.
Screengrab of the Election results of Matigara-Naxalbari Vidhan Sabha constituency
Rahul Gandhi and his ‘Coronavirus gimmick’ throughout election campaigning in West Bengal
On April 14, Rahul Gandhi was seen addressing massive gatherings in Goalpokhar and Matigara-Naxalbari in West Bengal forward of the fifth section of Vidhan Sabha polls. In a tweet, the official deal with of the celebration tweeted, “Shri Rahul Gandhi receives a tremendous reception as he arrives for his public meeting at Goalpokhar in West Bengal.” The visuals, shared by the celebration, clearly confirmed how social distancing tips went for a toss throughout his rally.
However, simply 4 days later, Rahul Gandhi resorted to advantage signalling. On April 18, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi sparked controversy by attributing election rallies to the rising Coronavirus circumstances within the nation. In a tweet, he stated, “Bimaro aur mritako ki bhi itni bheed pehali baar dekhi hai (I have seen such a large crowd of infected and deceased people too for the first time).” The Congress dynast took potshots on the ruling BJP for its aggressive marketing campaign forward of the sixth section of polls in West Bengal.
Rahul Gandhi was absent from the marketing campaign path in West Bengal throughout the 4 phases of the State Legislative polls. Although the likes of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Salman Khurshid, and Jaiveer Shergill had addressed gatherings forward of the polls, Rahul Gandhi remained lacking till the 4th section. And as election outcomes now recommend, his marketing campaign additional aggravated the celebration’s probabilities within the two constituencies.