TMC Accuses BJP Candidate of Bribery Before West Bengal Bypolls

Kolkata: A day before the Assembly bypolls in four seats of West Bengal, Trinamul Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused Maniktala BJP candidate Kalyan Choubey of trying to influence him to sabotage the ruling party's electoral prospects.

On Tuesday, Mr Ghosh alleged, “Mr Choubey had called me at around 11.30 pm on July 7 and requested me to help him in the polls knowing fully well that I'm the convenor of TMC core committee for the Assembly bypoll at Maniktala. He wanted me to sabotage my party as he was aware of his party's defeat.”

He also claimed, “For the sake of arguments, any candidate can ask for help in a democratic environment. There is nothing wrong with it. But Mr Choubey, who is also the All India Football Federation president, offered me a plum post in the sports at the state or national level. This is a sort of bribe.”

The TMC spokesperson then played the audio recording of a mobile phone conversation between him and the BJP candidate in front of the media. He also condemned the offer of Mr Choubey.

The BJP candidate said, “Yes, I made the call around that time because he wanted to talk then. I sought help, i.e. votes, from many people who have known me for years thanks to my background. But I never offered any bribe in exchange for that.”

Mr Choubey however pointed out that Mr Ghosh wished to switch to BJP a few weeks ago and conveyed his proposal through a messenger. Apart from Maniktala, Raiganj, Ranaghat South and Bagda will go to the bypoll on Wednesday.