EC rejects TMC’s request for a recount of votes at Nandigram

New Delhi, May 03: The Election Commission of India has rejected the demand by the Trinamool Congress for a recount of votes at Nandigram where Mamata Banerjee lost to the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.

The Returning Officer said that the result will be official declared after the VVPAT slips are tallied with the votes of the Electronic Voting Machines. Results declared in the evening on Sunday suggested that Mamata had lost the election by 1,736 votes.

BJP's IT cell chief, Amit Malviya took to Twitter and said "this is BIG.Mamata Banerjee, the sitting Chief Minister, loses Nandigram. BJP's Suvendu Adhikari wins by 1,622 votes. After this crushing defeat what moral authority will Mamata Banerjee have to retain her Chief Ministership? Her defeat is a taint on TMC's victory..."

Don't worry about Nandigram, I struggled for Nandigram because I fought a movement. It's ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, I accept that. I don't mind. We won more than 221 seats and BJP has lost the election, Mamata Banerjee said.

Article 164 (4) of the Indian Constitution says a minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.

This would mean that Mamata will get six months to get elected from any constituency in the state in a by-election. It may be recalled that when the TMC won the Bengal elections in 2011, Mamata Banerjee was a member of parliament. She then contested from the Bhabanipur seat a few months later and got elected.