West Bengal’s political landscape heats up as Congress heavyweight Shubhankar Sarkar levels serious charges against the Election Commission for botching the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. ‘The EC couldn’t build voter confidence,’ he told IANS in Kolkata on February 20, amid preparations for the assembly polls.
Claims of supremacy echo from all corners: Congress and BJP aim to seize power, while TMC predicts continuity. Sarkar spotlighted the chaos—real voters struck off lists, instilling dread across the state. ‘Situation deteriorates by the day,’ he observed.
TMC once opposed SIR outright, but Congress advocated for it under constitutional norms. Sarkar faulted the EC’s flip-flops on guidelines and failure to train BLOs, correlating these to suicides and other mishaps. ‘This defies constitutional standards,’ he asserted.
Congress eyes a trifecta: topple TMC, block BJP, reinstate its governance. Extending optimism to Kerala, Sarkar prophesied a Congress win, fueled by the party’s democratic fabric propelling national growth.
Echoing resolve, Ghulam Ahmad Mir declared full-slate candidacy across 294 seats, alliance-free with TMC. A people-centric manifesto, born from dialogues on pressing needs, finalizes soon, marking Congress’s strategic edge.