Supreme Court Reviews EC's Schedule for Maniktala By-Election

The Supreme Court reviewed the tentative schedule for the Maniktala by-election submitted by the Election Commission. The necessity arose following the death of MLA Sadhan Pande and subsequent delays caused by legal disputes. Residents of Maniktala had urged for swift elections due to prolonged lack of representation.

The Supreme Court took up the tentative schedule for the Maniktala by-election, submitted by the Election Commission (EC) on Monday. Following the death of Senior Trinamool Congress leader Sadhan Pande, who had originally won the seat in 2021, and legal challenges to the election results, residents have been without representation.

On May 6, Kalyan Chaubey, the losing BJP candidate, informed the apex court of his intent to withdraw his election petition challenging the 2021 results. Pursuant to this, the high court dismissed the petition, prompting the Supreme Court to ask the EC to draft a schedule for the by-election.

The EC's counsel submitted the tentative schedule in a sealed cover to a vacation bench of Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan. Residents eagerly await the announcement, seeing it as a step towards restoring their representation in the West Bengal Legislature.