EC Spl Observer says polls free and fair in WB, LF disputes it

Election Commission's Special Observer in West Bengal Sudhir Kumar Rakesh said today that the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state were free and fair, but the Left Front alleged that he had failed to deliver on his promises.
"There has been absolutely free and fair polls. The complaints and allegations are not correct," Rakesh told reporters here.
On allegations by the Left Front that their polling agents were driven out in some booths, he said, "I will dispute this. If some party doesn't have an agent, then we can't provide that."
Yesterday, he had said, "The election was free and fair, but I can't say peaceful. Better you say if it was peaceful or not."

Left Front chairman Biman Bose expressed surprise at Rakesh's comment and said, "How can he say so without collecting information. It is not easy to make an instant comment like that. So it was pre-meditated.
"The voting yesterday was scheduled to end at 6 pm, but at 5 pm, he said that the polls were free and fair.
"How could he make such a comment even before polls were over? We don't want such a special election observer. We want his removal," Bose, the state secretary of CPI(M) said.