West Bengal Government Revokes Affidavit Submitted in Calcutta High Court Regarding Rekha Patra's Election Challenge
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Kolkata, Dec 19 (NationPress) On Thursday, the West Bengal government officially retracted its affidavit concerning the election petition lodged by Rekha Patra, the BJP candidate representing the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency in the North 24 Parganas district during this year's general elections.
The state administration also expressed an apology to the court for submitting the affidavit that bore the signature of the returning officer, even though the state was not a party involved in the election petition.
Patra's legal representative raised concerns over how the returning officer could sign the affidavit submitted by the state and questioned the impartiality of the returning officer in this context.
Subsequently, the single-judge bench led by Justice Krishna Rao, who was presiding over the election petition, inquired about the rationale behind the state government's decision to file the affidavit despite its non-involvement in the case.
Ultimately, the state government retracted the affidavit and issued an apology during the proceedings. The next hearing on the case is scheduled for January 2025.
Before the Lok Sabha elections this year, Patra emerged as a prominent figure in the movement led by women in Sandeshkhali, situated in the Basirhat sub-division of the North 24 Parganas district. This movement aimed at addressing issues of sexual harassment against women and illegal land seizures perpetrated by the now-suspended local leader of the Trinamool Congress, Sheikh Shahjahan, along with his affiliates.
Later, the BJP nominated her as their candidate for the parliamentary elections; however, she was ultimately defeated by the Trinamool candidate, Haji Nurul Islam.
In her election petition submitted in June, Patra accused the victorious Trinamool candidate, who passed away in September, of withholding crucial information from the Election Commission. Her lawyer argued that the Trinamool candidate engaged in unethical conduct during the election process.
In July, the single-judge bench mandated that notices be served to all relevant parties in the case and directed the preservation of all election-related materials, including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), postal ballots, and CCTV footage.
