ML questions Bengal, Tamil Nadu poll results

Patna: The CPI(ML) on Tuesday expressed surprise over the results of the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu assembly elections, alleging that deletion of several lakh voters from electoral rolls through special intensive revision (SIR) ordered by the Election Commission of India was mainly responsible.In a press note, the party made “special mention” of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, claiming the BJP had come to power in West Bengal for the first time, defeating three-time CM Mamata Banerjee of the TMC. In Tamil Nadu, it said film actor-politician Thalapathy Vijay ended the decades-old alternation between DMK and AIADMK governments.The CPI(ML) held SIR responsible for defeats of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and M K Stalin in Tamil Nadu, alleging deletion of 90 lakh voters in Bengal and 70 lakh in Tamil Nadu. It further claimed 27 lakh voters in Bengal were removed due to “logical discrepancy”.It said, “There was persistent central intervention, and the election process was conducted under the shadow of heavily deployed central armed protection forces (CAPF) in West Bengal.” It added the process was influenced by rhetoric around “Bangladeshi Ghoospaithiya” and Hindu-Muslim polarisation. It also said “misrule” of the TMC contributed to its defeat.