West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has refused to accept the joining letter of State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, pushing the state into what government officials described as an “unprecedented constitutional crisis” ahead of the panchayat elections scheduled to be held on July 8.

The development came barely hours after the Calcutta High Court came down heavily on the State Election Commissioner, telling him that he should step down if he finds it difficult to take orders for the deployment of central forces in the state for the panchayat elections.

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Rajiv Sinha was appointed as the SEC on June 7 and the panchayat elections were declared on June 8, a move termed hasty by the Opposition parties. Notably, Sinha’s appointment was cleared by the Governor. However, the Governor decided not to accept Sinha’s joining letter after the High Court’s observations. The Indian Express, citing Raj Bhavan sources, said that Governor had called Sinha after he assumed office, but he did not meet him.

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Meanwhile, state government officials said that the Governor’s decision has pushed the state into a crisis. “It’s an unprecedented constitutional crisis. The Governor had given his nod to Rajiva Sinha’s appointment as State Election Commissioner. There is no precedent that after giving the nod, the Governor has refused to accept the joining letter. We do not know what to do next. After consulting legal experts and top brass of officials, the state government will probably take a decision on this matter,” a senior official of the state government told The Indian Express.

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The development also sets the stage for a fresh face-off between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Centre. Mamata, who will be in Patna on Thursday to attend a meeting of Opposition parties, said that the State Election Commissioner cannot be removed at the “whims and fancies” of anyone.

West Bengal Panchayat elections on July 8

Panchayat elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held on July 8. The process so far has been marred by several incidents of violence. Opposition parties, including the Congress and the CPI(M) have alleged that their candidates were blocked from filing their nominations by “goons” linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress.

On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court ordered the poll panel to deploy at least 825 companies – the number of central forces personnel deployed during the 2013 panchayat elections – in the state within 24 hours after taking exception to SEC’s requisition for only 22 companies of Central paramilitary forces.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar observed that if it was difficult for the State Election Commissioner to take orders, then he could step down.

“Very sorry state of affairs. You are a neutral body… We reposed great faith in the SEC (State Election Commission) and that is why we said that the ultimate decision must lie with the SEC. The court shouldn’t lose faith in the system, but if ultimately people are starting to lose faith, then what is the purpose of conducting elections?” the bench said.