KMC polls: BJP fails to arrange adequate booth agents

Kolkata: As the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election is drawing close, the organisational weakness of state BJP is becoming more evident. After failing to get adequate number of workers in the city, the state unit has decided to bring activists from Howrah, Hooghly, Birbhum and even Jharkhand. Sources said the party was facing real trouble in getting workers who would be posted in the booths.

There are 4742 booths and 385 auxiliary booths in Kolkata. The state Election Commission has made it mandatory that those deployed in booths should be local residents. It may be mentioned that BJP had moved the Election Commission of India and got its clearance to deploy those who were not local residents in the booths during 2021 Assembly election.

A senior BJP leader said the organisation has hit the rock bottom level and even 10 workers cannot be arranged for accompanying the candidate during campaign. Amit Malviya, president of the BJP's IT cell, urged the party leaders to pull up their socks and put up a stiff fight in the civic election.

Neither Dilip Ghosh, former state president, nor Sukanta Majumdar was available for the campaign as they were in Delhi attending sessions of the Parliament. Suvendu Adhikari has been asked to look after 10 wards in the civic poll.

The leader said many workers who had received injuries during the Assembly election but are yet to get compensation, have refused to work in the civic election. It has been decided that the party will launch door-to-door campaign seriously from December 8.