Sept. 20: Actor-turned-BJP leader Joy Banerjee today said the "Election Commission is now under our control", prompting the party's Bengal unit to go into damage-control mode and say "such things should not have been said".

"I want to remind you that people did not vote me out. Electoral malpractices were adopted to make me lose the (2014 Lok Sabha) polls. But this won't be repeated in the 2016 Assembly elections. The Election Commission is now under our control," Banerjee told a 500-strong crowd in Mayureswar in Birbhum.

In his 15-minute speech, Banerjee added: "The next year's Assembly polls would be conducted with the help of the military. I assure you there would be no electoral malpractices. Take it from me."

Banerjee had come third in the Birbhum Lok Sabha seat in the parliamentary polls last year, bagging 2.35 lakh votes. Trinamul's Satabdi Roy won the seat, with 4.60 lakh votes.

Bengal BJP minder Sidharth Nath Singh and state party president Rahul Sinha sought to nullify Banerjee's comments.

"EC under any party's control is against democracy & BJP respects EC's autonomy & their resolve in strengthening India's democracy," Singh tweeted.

Sinha said Banerjee had "expressed his regret" over the poll panel remark.

"He should not have said such things. The party does not stand by them," he added.

Asked about his comment, Banerjee later said that he wanted to drive home the point that the Assembly elections would be conducted under strict surveillance of the poll panel.