New Delhi:

The Election Commission has served Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay a show-cause notice for “improper, injudicious and undignified remarks” remarks against Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The poll panel said the remarks, prima facie, violated Model Code of Conduct provisions and its advisory dated March 1.

The remarks by the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from the Tamluk seat were made at a public meeting in Haldia district on Wednesday, and were made public after a video emerged online a day later.

The comments – condemned as sexist – prompted the Trinamool to file a complaint with the top poll panel, accusing the former judge – with whom the party has had several run-ins – of making “misogynistic” comments. The BJP, however, has denounced the video as “fake”.

In a letter to the EC, the Trinamool hit out at the “very shameful and egregious statement” made by the BJP leader and alleged that comments showed the Tamluk candidate’s “misogynistic mindset”.

“Mr Gangopadhyay’s vulgar and uncouth remark(s)/comment(s) are completely beyond the grounds of decency and morality. They not only lack decorum but also exhibit a blatant disregard of the only lady Chief Minister, Smt. Mamata Banerjee,” the letter read.

The letter also alleged that BJP candidates were making “indecorous and degrading statements” against women to garner votes.

The Trinamool Congress demanded that the poll body issue orders to initiate criminal proceedings against the Mr Gangopadhyay and ban him from attending public meetings or rallies. The letter also sought directions to be issued to BJP candidates, barring them from making “personal, objectionable and disgraceful” remarks.

The BJP has fielded Mr Gangopadhyay from Tamluk seat in West Bengal where voting will be held on May 25.

The EC in its notice noted that Mr Gangopadhyay’s comment has been found to be “improper, injudicious, beyond dignity in every sense of term, in bad taste” and prima facie violative of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and its advisory to political parties.

The EC has sought a response by 5 pm of May 20.

Purba Medinipur:

After filing his nomination from the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, BJP candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, on Saturday said that he has respect for the opposition but it seems they are not very active or present in the current election race.

“I do not underestimate them (opposition), but I find that they are not on the ground. They are absent from the contest,” he said.

BJP has fielded Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay from Tamluk while TMC has fielded Debangshu Bhattacharya from the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat.

TMC’s Adhikari Dibyendu won from the Tamluk garnering 724433 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. TMC defeated BJP Sidharthashankar Naskar who got 534268 votes. The TMC secured 50 percent.

Voting in the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat will be conducted on June 25 in Phase 6. West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs, to Parliament, is voting in all seven phases. Polling for six Lok Sabha seats in Bengal was held across the first two phases on April 19 and 26.

Polling for the remaining parliamentary seats will be held on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for just 2. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.

In the 2019 general elections, the TMC dropped to 22 seats, while the BJP saw the lotus bloom in 18 seats. The Congress brought up the rear, winning just 2 seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tamluk (West Bengal):

Among the most-watched Lok Sabha contests in Bengal this time is the fight for Tamluk seat, where the BJP has fielded former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay and the Trinamool has chosen its young leader and head of its social media cell Debangshu Bhattacharya.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who resigned as a judge earlier this month and joined the BJP days later, made headlines in 2021 for his strong observations and directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers by the West Bengal School Service Commission.

The 61-year-old has come under criticism following his switch from judiciary to politics, with the Trinamool Congress alleging political motives behind his rulings in the alleged teacher recruitment scam.

At a Trinamool march soon after his BJP entry, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had described Mr Gangopadhyay as a “BJP babu who was sitting on the bench” and said she will ensure his defeat if he contests the election. With the BJP announcing him as a candidate in its fifth list released last night, the stage is set.

Ms Banerjee had also said that the former judge has become a leader “after denying jobs to thousands of students”. “Be ready. Wherever you contest from, I will send students to fight you.” For the past couple of weeks, buzz over Mr Gangopadhyay contesting from Tamluk was doing the rounds. Anticipating this, the Trinamool fielded 27-year-old Bhattacharya to take on the former judge.

Mr Bhattacharya has been actively involved in student politics as a member of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and has been handling the party’s social media presence since 2022.

He is also credited with writing the Khela Hobe campaign song in the run-up to the 2021 Bengal elections. The Trinamool wrote the campaign song, highlighting the local political flavour and the Bengal government’s welfare schemes. With catchy music, the campaign song was an instant hit, so much so that several other parties tweaked and used it in their campaigns.

Once a Left bastion, the Tamluk constituency has been with the Trinamool Congress since 2009. But there is a twist. The seat was won in 2009 and 2014 by Suvendu Adhikari, who is now among the top state leaders of the BJP. Mr Adhikari, then with the Trinamool, had vacated the seat after being elected as an MLA in the 2016 state polls. In the by-election that followed, his brother Dibyendu Adhikari was elected MP. In the 2019 polls, Trinamool fielded Dibyendu Adhikari again, keeping in mind the family’s influence in the area, and predictably, he won. The next year, however, Suvendu Adhikari switched to the BJP. His brother Divyendu held on to the seat and switched to the BJP just a week back.

This means that while the seat has been with Trinamool for 15 years now, it is, in effect, Suvendu Adhikari’s turf. And the Trinamool will have to move mountains to retain it this time.