The Governor of Bengal, Dr. CV Ananda Bose, has made it clear that he is not satisfied with the performance of the State Election Commissioner in the Panchayat polls.
The joining report of Rajiva Sinha as the West Bengal State Election Commissioner has been returned to the sender. The State Election Commissioner failed to attend a discussion with Governor CV Ananda Bose to address a sensitive matter related to the Panchayat election issue.
Now, the question arises: Does this mean Rajib Sinha has to step down as SEC? Experts say that since Rajib Sinha’s appointment was approved by the Governor, it is not easy to remove the SEC simply by not signing his joining report. If the SEC needs to be removed, an impeachment process must be initiated, which would require ratification by both Houses of Parliament and the signature of the President.
On Tuesday, the Court also expressed the view that if the SEC cannot comply with court instructions, he can choose to resign. The role of the SEC is facing severe criticism from various quarters, including the public, the court, and now the actions of the Governor only make it clearer.
Meanwhile, finally:
Out of 64,339 seats in Gram Panchayat, only 6,238 seats have been won uncontested. In Panchayat Samiti, out of 9,730 seats, 759 uncontested seats have been won. For Zilla Parishad, out of 928 seats, only 8 Zilla Parishad seats were uncontested. In 2018, TMC won 34% of seats uncontested, but this time the number has significantly reduced.
Withdrawal of Nominations by Party:
The total number of nominations withdrawn in the Bengal Panchayat poll is 20,585. TMC has withdrawn 6,848 nominations, BJP has withdrawn 5,542 nominations, CPM has withdrawn 2,990 nominations, and Congress has withdrawn 1,827 nominations.
According to experts, while the Governor cannot remove the SEC through this act, it certainly sends a strong message. However, there is a section of experts who believe that the SEC can be removed, although the specific clause for such removal is not yet clear. The fact that the Governor did not sign his joining report raises questions in certain circles about whether the SEC will remain in office or not
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