Bad timing

EC rejected the nomination of Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya

The Election Commission rejected the nomination of Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, former Kolkata mayor and Left Front candidate for Rajya Sabha, on Monday. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had decided to field Bhattacharya as the Left Front candidate after the party’s central committee had voted against nominating party chief Sitaram Yechury with Congress support. Following this, the Congress fielded its own candidate. The Bengal unit of the CPI (M) was not in favour of fielding a candidate against the Congress as they argued it would bring the Congress and Trinamool Congress closer. In the event, Bhattacharya, a noted