United opposition in Bengal boycott today's civic election re-polling

Calling it a "farce," the opposition  gheraoed the commissioner as he was leaving his office on Thursday.

"It's a farce. Just yesterday, the commissioner said he would examine footage from webcams inside polling booths. He said he had 2000 hours of footage. And today he announces this ridiculous decision. We are boycotting the re-polls," CPI(M)'s Gautam Deb said.

The opposition Left Front has in a statement declared that there is no other option but to stay away from the re-polls in the interest of democracy as the Trinamool Congress government has created an "unprecedented instance of attack on democracy and democratic rights" of the people by making an independent body the State Election Commission its "stooge."

The Front said the newly appointed State Election Commissioner Alapon Bandopadhyay has cancelled "in a haste" the pre-conditions for re-polls declared earlier by the Commission.

The BJP and the Congress have also announced that they are not going to participate in the  re-polling. This leaves on the  the candidates from the ruling Trinamool Congress or independents in the field.

On the day of the civic polls last Saturday, outsiders allegedly backed by the Trinamool Congress manhandled voters and cast false votes in Salt Lake. There were reports of violence in Asansol too.

Next day, the then state election commissioner Sushanta Ranjan Upadhyay had put off counting scheduled for October 7.

On Monday, Trinamool Congress sat on dharna outside Upadhyay's office. Its leaders were inside the office for four hours. Upadhyay resigned the next day and Bandopadhyay, the transport secretary, flew down from Thimpu where he was meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, to take over the charge.

The opposition has questioned his appointment, saying a serving bureaucrat can't function independently as an election commissioner.