EC bars Mukul Roy from being present in any of the 9 constituencies on election day

Kolkata: The Election Commission on Saturday has restricted the entry of BJP leader Mukul Roy in all the nine Lok Sabha constituencies which will go to polls on Sunday.

The development came after Trinamool Congress moved the Election Commission urging it not to allow the entry of Roy into the jurisdiction of any of these nine constituencies because he is not a voter of the state.

Within hours after the complaint reached the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the election officials issued an order saying that Roy would not be allowed to enter any of these constituencies. The issue raised by the ruling party in the state was found valid by the Commission.

Soon after the order was issued by the office of the CEO, Roy urged the Commission that he would like to stay in Howrah on Sunday when the elections would be held in the Parliamentary seats of Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Mathurapur and Joynagar.

During an interview with a vernacular television channel, Roy said that he was aware of the restrictions. As he was not a voter of Bengal, he decided to stay in Howrah.

Trinamool Congress leaders from the state on a number of occasions in the recent past have alleged that Roy has been visiting various places to intimidate voters.

It was also alleged that BJP leaders were trying to distribute money among the people in order to make them cast their votes in their favour. There were instances where the BJP leadership from the state or their associates were found carrying huge amount of money.

A letter submitted to the

CEO office by the Trinamool Congress says that as per the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), any political leader who is a voter of another state cannot remain present is any

constituency where the election is being held.