Majority for party at stake after cancellation of SC certificate of winning BJP candidate

Malda: The Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate of Sulekha Singha, the winning BJP candidate of Habibpur Panchayat Samiti, has been canceled following an administrative investigation by sub-divisional officer of Malda Sadar based on an on-site investigation report by the joint block development officer of Habibpur.

The BJP has got a majority in this Panchayat Samiti (PS) by a margin of just one seat. However, owing to cancellation of the certificate, Sulekha’s membership is at stake now.

The BJP will no longer have an absolute majority in the Habibpur PS if the membership is rejected and this will result in a hung PS. Sulekha Singha, a resident of Tilasan village in Singabad area of Habibpur, was issued a Scheduled Caste certificate from the office of Malda Sadar SDO allegedly by presenting a neighbour as her father. She then won the SC reserved seat of Dhumpur of Habibpur PS. Her father actually lives in Odisha.

The defeated candidate, Purnima Chowdhury of Trinamool Congress (TMC), accused her of contesting elections from this reserved seat by submitting a fake certificate. She then had filed a written complaint with the BDO.

The total number of seats in Habibpur PS is 33 where TMC got 13 seats, Congress 1 and CPM 2, with BJP getting 17 seats alone. If Sulekha Singha’s membership is rejected, BJP’s number of seats will reduced to 16, losing the majority. The formation of board is scheduled on August 14. Uday Jha, lawyer of complainant, said: “Sulekha Singha obtained the caste certificate by providing false information, which is a criminal offence. Although she is a resident of Odisha, she allegedly presented a neighbor from Malda, as her father. The certificate was canceled by the SDO on the basis of an investigation. Since she won from a reserved seat, her membership is no longer valid there. She will not be able to take part in the voting to form the board of the Panchayat Samiti.”

On the other hand, Amitabha Maitra, lawyer of Sulekha Singha, said: “The decision of the district magistrate is not correct. The decision to cancel the certificate is biased. We are going to the High Court. She is still a member of the Panchayat Samiti and can attend the board formation meeting to participate in the voting. The SC certificate is cancelled by SDO but the membership is not revoked.”