Failing to appear at hearing, seven political parties in Bengal ‘delisted’

Kolkata: Seven registered unrecognised political parties in Bengal are likely to be delisted after failing to appear at a hearing held at the office of the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Friday.

A dozen such parties had been issued showcause notices by the Election Commission (EC) asking why action should not be taken against them for delisting, and were directed to depose at Friday’s hearing.

The poll panel had raised doubts about their existence since many had not participated in elections for a long time.According to a senior official of the state CEO office, five parties—the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Kamtapur Progressive Party, Paschim Banga Rajya Muslim League, Nirjatita Samaj Biplabi Party and Mai Hee Bharat—appeared and submitted documents in support of retaining their registration.

“We expect to forward the proceedings of the hearing along with the documents submitted by these five political parties within a week to the Election Commission of India, which will take the final call,” the official said.

The hearing was conducted in the presence of Additional CEO Arindam Niyogi and Deputy CEO

Subrata Pal. The seven parties that failed to turn up were the Nationalist Trinamul Congress Party, Ambedkarbadi Party, Global People Peace Party, National Confederacy of India, Parbatiaya Prajatantrik Party, Right Party of India, and The Religion of Man Revolving Political Party of India.

“It is presumed that as we have not received any response from these seven parties, they have nothing to say in the showcause matter. Hence the ECI will pass appropriate orders without any further reference to them,” the official added.

As per rules, all political parties, whether recognised or unrecognised, are required to submit their audit reports on income and expenditure, along with other relevant documents, to the Commission.