Mamata Banerjee announces sit-in-protest as EC bans her from campaigning, Sushil Chandra appointed new Chief Election Commissioner

In the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections, TMC leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been banned from campaigning for 24 hours over speeches that the Election Commission said violated the poll code. 

The chief minister has been accused of making insinuating and provocative remarks on Muslim votes and for allegedly urging voters to revolt against central security forces. Reacting to the EC ban order, Banerjee has announced to stage a sit-in to protest the poll panel decision.

In an announcement on Twitter, Banerjee wrote, To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon.

According to the sources, Banerjee was scheduled to hold four rallies on Tuesday in Nadia and North 24 Parganas for the fifth phase of Assembly elections. 

Banerjee had previously been served two notices by the Election Commission in connection with the matter. In response to it, Banerjee had raised questions on PM Narendra Modi, asking why he was not served any notices by the poll body.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday appointed Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as the new Chief Election Commissioner, replacing Sunil Arora who has retired. 

Chandra, the 24th head of the country’s poll commission, will assume charge from Tuesday. He was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019. During his tenure, of over two years, he oversaw the assembly elections of more than 10 states and worked towards making the entire nomination process online. 

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As a new CEC, Chandra will oversee the completion of the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal, where four out of eight rounds of voting have been completed. The final phase will take place on April 29, followed by the counting of votes and declaration of results on May 2.

In his tenure as new CEC, he will also be supervising the conduct of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur which are set to end before May 2022. He will demit office on May 14, 2022.