Sources told The Daily Guardian that preparations have started for the by-elections to seven seats of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Election Commission has ordered the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to update the electoral rolls to the election officers of all the seats. Along with this, EVMs have also been asked to be kept ready. In West Bengal, by-elections to the 7 vacant seats of the Legislative Assembly are also necessary because the Chief Minister of the state, Mamata Banerjee, needs to be elected by November to continue in her post because Banerjee is not a member of any assembly at present. The results of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections were declared on May 2. After losing from Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee took oath as Chief Minister on May 5 without becoming an MLA. According to the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, Mamata Banerjee should become a member of the Legislative Assembly by November 5. Otherwise, her chair won’t survive, as she will resign from the post as per the law.
On 15 July A TMC delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sushil Chandra, here in the national capital and handed over a letter on this matter. The delegation included Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Saugata Roy, Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, and Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay told The Daily Guardian, “We have appealed that all by-polls are held within 6 months. They listened to us and we hope that our discussions are successful,”
The TMC in a letter to the EC said that “Constitutional principles mandate that voters from the aforesaid assembly constituencies have the fundamental right to elect a representative of their choice to represent them in the Legislative Assembly of the State. In the circumstances, we call upon you too, forthwith, take necessary action and appropriate steps in accordance with the Act to fill the aforesaid vacancies caused in the Legislative Assembly for State of West Bengal, keeping in mind all government-mandated COVID-19 protocols and guidelines,”
Due to the death of two contesting candidates, the polls to Samserganj, and Jangipur were deferred to May 16, 2021, by the Election Commission.
In the interregnum, five more seats in the Legislative Assembly, being Bhabanipur, Santipur, Dinhata, Khardaha, Gosaba have also fallen vacant for various reasons, including, death of successful candidate(s) and the resignation of elected members of the Legislative Assembly.