Agartala, June 7 (UNI): The opposition CPI-M on Tuesday demanded the removal of Returning Officer of Bardowali constituency Asim Saha accusing him of being biased and directly connected to the ruling BJP.
Tripura chief minister Manik Saha is contesting from the seat, where the by-poll will be held on June 23.
In a letter to Chief Election Officer (CEO) Gitte Kiran Kumar, CPI-M state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury demanded the removal of SDM Sadar sub-division Asim Saha as returning officer (RO) for by-election to Bardowali assembly constituency.
The letter pointed to Asim Saha being replaced as Assistant Returning Officer for West Tripura Parliamentary constituency in the midst of the 2019 general elections.
“Saha was summarily removed from this office to act upon the complaint against him of his biases towards the ruling BJP by entrusting task of Web-Casting in all the booths under Sadar Sub-Division to BMS, an affiliated Organisation of ruling BJP in contravention to ECI direction,” the letter stated.
Again he has been made RO in the constituency where the Chief Minister is contesting, raising doubts among the voters about the election process, the letter said.
Dubbing Asim Saha’s activities “pro-BJP”, Chowdhury said “he cannot hold fair elections and people have no faith in him. “So he has to be replaced with another officer immediately,” Chowdhury demanded.
