BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary has also written to the Election Commission, and asked for permission to change his party’s candidate for the Tamulpur seat
The BPF, led by Hagrama Mohilary, broke ties with the BJP and joined the Congress in February (File)
New Delhi/Guwahati:
Assam’s Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) moved the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking postponement of polling in Tamulpur, after its candidate – Rangja Khungur Basumatary – defected to the BJP less than a week before voting and after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
Tamulpur is scheduled to vote on Tuesday – the third and final phase of the Assam election.
On Friday BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary wrote his second letter, in as many days, to the Election Commission, and asked for permission to change the BPF’s candidate for the Tamulpur seat.
“Since the candidate nominated by my party has changed his political allegiance barely a few days before polling through illegal inducements including bribery, he is no longer entitled to receive the votes under the BPF symbol,” Mr Mohilary said in his letter.
He also said Mr Basumatary’s defection after the last date of withdrawal of nomination was an “act of fraud” that violated the “core requirement of fairness in elections”.
“… in the interest of free and fair elections… this honourable commission is requested to consider permitting the BPF to immediately change its candidate from Tamulpur… and to allot the party symbol to a new candidate, so as not to deny voters…. the right and freedom to vote,” he said.
A day earlier Mr Mohilary wrote to request that polling be cancelled and that an FIR (first information report) be filed against Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who were present as Mr Basumatary joined the BJP.
BJP chief JP Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass were also named – for allegedly luring Mr Basumatary in a “fraudulent manner”.
The Bodoland People’s Front was once an ally of the BJP.
Mr Mohilary’s party switched to the Congress in February – after the BJP dumped it to ally with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) to form the Bodoland Territorial Council last December.
The results of the Assam Assembly election are expected on May 2.