The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has brought to the Election Commission of India’s attention the alleged appointment of contractual staff as sector officers/assistants in Kasba Assembly Constituency in South 24 Parganas district. Adhikari expressed his concerns over this move, stating that it could potentially undermine the democratic process in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. The appointment of these contractual staff for critical poll-related tasks was criticized as a deliberate attempt by the district administration to influence the electoral process in Kasba.
Adhikari highlighted that the appointment order, issued by the Returning Officer for the Assembly constituency, involved individuals who were reportedly contractual employees of the ‘ISGPP Cell’ under the panchayat and rural development department. He emphasized that the Election Commission’s guidelines strictly prohibit the deployment of contractual staff for such sensitive polling duties due to their lack of accountability and job security. Adhikari also pointed out the use of fabricated designations like “sector assistant” and “assistant sector officer,” which he claimed were created to circumvent scrutiny and deploy contractual workers for electoral tasks.
The Leader of the Opposition accused the Returning Officer of Kasba of violating the Model Code of Conduct and jeopardizing the integrity of the electoral process. He asserted that by entrusting contractual staff with crucial polling responsibilities, the administration was essentially granting an advantage to the ruling party. Adhikari urged the Election Commission to intervene in the matter promptly and remove the contractual staff from their electoral duties to ensure a fair and transparent election process.
