TMC facing trust deficit, not constitutional bodies: BJP's Trivedi

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi claims TMC is facing a trust deficit by repeatedly approaching courts over 'unsubstantiated claims'. He cited the SC's rejection of a TMC plea against ECI's decision on vote-counting staff for West Bengal.

Allegations of electoral malpractice continued to be fired back and forth in West Bengal following the conclusion of polling, with Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sudhanshu Trivedi claiming on Saturday that it is the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) that is facing a trust deficit due to repeatedly approaching the court over unsubstantiated claims on constitutional bodies.

Supreme Court Rejects TMC's Plea

Trivedi expressed happiness over the Supreme Court declining today to intervene in the Election Commission of India (ECI) deciding to only deploy central government employees for vote-counting supervising duties in West Bengal. "In over ten years, TMC has gone to court atleast 80 times regarding various orders, and every time they have gotten rejected. Today, the Supreme Court has also rejected to pass an order on interfering with the constitutional work of the Election Commission, and rejected their petition," the Rajya Sabha MP said during a press conference here.

He pointed out that the lack of trust is actually in the AITC rather than any constitutional body carrying out their duties lawfully. "Today, the petition filed by Kapil Sibal for Trinamool has been dismissed. The question arose that they do not have trust in Central government employees, and only trust state employees. But I want to tell you that the question of trust deficit is on you itself. When I-PAC had a raid, it was the first time that the Chief Minister reached there herself, as she did not have trust in her own officials," Trivedi said.

Past Incidents Cited to Question TMC

Raising the issue of the I-PAC raid in Kolkata, Trivedi highlighted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee going into the office and taking a few documents herself proved that she did not have trust in her own officers. He claimed that over 75 people died in 2023 local elections, saying that a party that does not care about that number but alleges malpractice after polls are over has serious questions to answer.

"In panchayat elections around 75 people died, in this situation, when someone only worries after assembly elections have finished then they raise objections so I question whether the Constitution will be safe with them," he said. Such an act, he claimed, is indicative of the AITC 'being scared', adding, "The way Trinamool Congress has made an issue of unproven, and unsubstantiated claims and approached the Supreme Court, it is an example of them being scared."

There was high drama at the offices of political consultants IPAC in Kolkata on January 8 after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the premises even as the Enforcement Directorate was conducting searches in connection with an alleged fake government job scam.

Background of the Legal Dispute

A special SC bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi was constituted on a Saturday to hear the matter urgently, as vote counting is scheduled to begin on May 4, and the petitioner argued that any delay would render the plea infructuous. The dispute arises from a communication dated April 13, 2026, issued by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, which directed that at least one of the counting supervisors or counting assistants at each table must be a Central Government or Central PSU employee for the Assembly election vote counting. (ANI)

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