The Election Commission has replaced the police observer assigned to four Assembly constituencies in Malda after the Trinamool Congress alleged that his wife had links with BJP leaders in Bihar.
Jayant Kant, an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh, who had been appointed as the police observer for Manikchak, Mothabari, Sujapur, and Baishnabnagar constituencies, was removed from the role. The EC said Hriday Kant, another IPS officer from the Bihar cadre, would be the new police observer.
Trinamool MP Partha Bhowmik and state education minister Bratya Basu alleged that his wife, Smrity Paswan, was a prominent BJP leader with close links to the party’s top leadership in Bihar.
Trinamool asked whether the officer could function impartially during the elections. Malda district Trinamool leaders demanded Kant's removal and warned that his presence could compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.
Derek O'Brien, Trinamool MP and spokesperson, wrote to the chief election commissioner, urging the EC to cancel the appointment of Kant as police observer.
The BJP, however, said an officer’s professional responsibilities should not be judged on the basis of the spouse’s political affiliations.
A district BJP leader also cited the example of Lovely Maitra, a Trinamool MLA whom the party fielded again this time, and said her husband was an IPS officer posted in Bengal and had worked in previous elections.
Despite such arguments from the saffron camp, the EC eventually took cognisance of Trinamool's complaint.