Kolkata, Sept. 22 -- The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) alleged discrepancies in the affidavit of BJP's Nandigram bypoll candidate Hasirani Rath and demanded cancellation of her nomination, while the Election Commission said no complaint had been filed in the matter so far.

MAITC's IT and social media wing raised questions over Rath's educational details in a post on X. The party said her affidavit mentions her age as over 60, suggesting that she was born in 1965 or 1966, while the same document states that she passed the Madhyamik examination in 1965.

The party also questioned the educational institution mentioned in Rath's affidavit, Choukhali Ganga Padma Milan Kanya Vidyapith. According to the post, although the school was established in 1963, it received approval for Class 10 only in 1973 and students could appear for the Class 10 examination from the following year.

"Meaning, she passed Madhyamik the same year she was born," the party said, alleging that the affidavit contained false information and demanded cancellation of Rath's nomination.

A senior Election Commission official said no complaint regarding the alleged discrepancy had been received so far.

The official said Rath's age was valid for contesting the election. "If needed, we can seek a counter affidavit at the most," the official said.

BJP leader Sisir Bajoria said, "If there are any discrepancies, they should file a complaint with the Election Commission of India. Let the ECI take the call."

Rath is contesting the October 6 Nandigram bypoll, which was necessitated after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won two Assembly seats in May, decided to retain Bhowanipore and vacated Nandigram.

The contest gained further significance after MAITC candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew from the race following a meeting with Adhikari. MAITC subsequently extended support to Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, who was arrested in connection with a two-decade-old case linked to the 2007 anti-land acquisition protests.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.