West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has announced his intent to camp in the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency in north Bengal on April 19, the day the constituency goes to polls in the first phase, but the poll panel has urged him to refrain.
Sources said that the Governor took the decision after considering the record of poll-related violence in previous elections.
As per the schedule, said Raj Bhavan sources, the Governor will start for Cooch Behar from Kolkata on Thursday morning and will leave the constituency in the evening after the elections are over.
However, later in the day, a communique was sent from the Election Commission to the Governor's office, suggesting he refrain from being in Cooch Behar on the polling day, since that would amount to a violation of the model code of conduct.
However, there was no reaction from the Governor’s House yet to the EC message.
Besides Cooch Behar, two other Lok Sabha constituencies, namely Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, are also going for polls on the same day. However, the Governor decided to be in Cooch Behar considering the sensitivity of the constituency going by the past reports of poll violence there.
On March 16, the day the Election Commission announced the polling schedule, the Governor said that he would be on the field from day one. "I will hit the streets at 6 a.m. I will be available to the people. The political 'holi' with human blood that happened in the panchayat elections last year should not be allowed anymore," he had said then.
Last month, a new portal was also launched at the Raj Bhavan through which the Governor could directly interact with the common voters in the state and address their grievances about the polls. The portal has a dedicated email through which any voter in the state can directly register their grievances.
Major jolt to Congress in Delhi, Naseeb Singh & Neeraj Basoya quit party, blame AAP alliance
In a major setback to the Congress party, two of its leaders and observers for two Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Neeraj Basoya and Naseeb Singh have resigned from the party.
2 Samajwadi Party leaders booked in HM Amit Shah's edited video case
Two Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders have been served summons in connection with the edited video speech of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. SP candidate from Ambedkar Nagar, Lalji Varma, has been served notice and was even subjected to initial questioning.
Charges framed against killers of Atiq Ahmad, his brother Ashraf
Charges have been framed against three killers of slain gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge. Three accused, who are presently lodged in Chitrakoot jail, appeared through video conferencing before the court.
UN chief Guterres appeals for international pressure to stop Israel incursion into Rafah
As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood firmly by his determination to send troops into Rafah, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed for international pressure to stop the attack on the area where more than 1.2 million Palestinians are sheltering from Israeli invasion that has rolled across most of Gaza.
India's per capita GDP growing faster than peers, reverses pre-2014 falling trend
Apart from India taking the big leap from the fragile five to the world's top five economies based on GDP in the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government, an analysis by experts based on IMF data shows that the country's relative performance compared with its peers has also turned better which was not the case earlier.
Congress tried to block quota for SCs, STs, OBCs since beginning, say experts
Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s claim about the grand old party’s support for reservation has drawn flak from various quarters on social media, with experts pointing to the perceived inconsistencies between the party's rhetoric and its actions regarding reservation policies.
Mayor distributes cold water & watermelons to cleaning workers
Amidst the sweltering heat wave gripping Agartala and the wider state, Mayor Dipak Majumder of Agartala Municipal Corporation demonstrated proactive compassion by providing relief to sanitation workers.
Water Tanker Overturns in Khowai District, 9 Injured, 4 Critical
In a distressing incident in the Quicha Bari area under Tulashikhar block of Khowai district, a water tanker truck lost control, leading to a harrowing accident. The vehicle, while taking off, suddenly veered backward, leaving 9 injured while 4 among them are critical.