Gautam Paul, a sitting Trinamool Congress MLA and a candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in the North Dinajpur district, was accused of attempting to influence voters by distributing cash.

Gautam is the MLA of the Karandighi Assembly constituency and has been fielded from the same seat this time. Pampa Paul, his wife, currently serves as the sabhadhipati of the North Dinajpur Zilla Parishad.

A video of the incident went viral on social media, in which Gautam and Pampa are seen distributing panjabi (long kurta) and white envelopes to a group of people of the minority community gathered outside
their house.

The BJP has claimed that the envelopes contained cash meant to influence voters and has submitted a written complaint along with the viral video to the Election
Commission.

Biraj Biswas, the BJP candidate of the seat, alleged that the act is a blatant violation of the model code of conduct (MCC).

“Trinamool candidate Gautam Paul and his wife, Pampa Pal, distributed gifts and money to voters. The video has gone viral. I have lodged complaints with the district magistrate and the Election Commission and have demanded appropriate steps against them. Such a violation of MCC can influence the democratic process,”
Biswas said.

Gautam denied the charges. He said that a local NGO organises a gift-distribution programme every year and invites him to inaugurate
the event.

“This time too, I inaugurated the programme and left. The BJP is unnecessarily politicising the issue,”
he said.

A source in the Trinamool said the envelopes seen in the video contained Eid greeting cards.

Arindam Sarkar, a district vice-president of the Trinamool, also dismissed the allegations and accused the BJP of making baseless
claims.

“The BJP sees money in everything. They are used to corruption and extortion, so even a white envelope looks like cash to them,”
said Sarkar.