‘I was made to fall asleep’: Rejinagar candidate Shafiuzzaman Sheikh’s cryptic remark amid counting

Democratic Trinamool Congress candidate Shafiuzzaman Sheik left the vote-counting center in Rejinagar after the first round of counting on Friday, saying he had not slept through the night and wanted to rest. He also made a cryptic remark, suggesting that sometimes people are not allowed to go to sleep voluntarily but are instead ‘made to fall asleep’.

‘I haven’t slept all night. There is no work for me here now. I want to get some rest,’ Sheikh told reporters while leaving the counting centre at Berhampore Girls’ College.

Asked whether he would return after waking up, Sheikh said he did not think it would be necessary. He added that voters had witnessed what had happened during the election.

‘Sometimes, you don’t have to go to sleep on your own. You are made to fall asleep. Assume that’s what happened,’ he said.

The remarks came as counting was underway for the October 6 Assembly by-elections in Rejinagar and Nandigram.

Counting began with postal ballots, followed by votes recorded in electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Congress candidate Mohammed Abdullahil Kafi also alleged electoral malpractice during the counting process.

Claiming the BJP led in every booth, Kafi alleged ‘calculated rigging’ and called for a movement against it.

‘They have carried out calculated rigging. The BJP is ahead in every booth. A movement will rise against this. Let Delhi also speak up,” Kafi told reporters, alleging irregularities in the electoral process. The allegations could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate Shakharav Sarkar reportedly led his nearest rival by nearly 6,000 votes in the first round of counting. By the end of the second round, the margin had reportedly increased to more than 18,000 votes.

Speaking to reporters outside the counting center, Sarkar said he had stepped out to relax.

‘I’ve come out too. But I’ve come out to relax a little,’ he said.

The Rejinagar bypoll has also drawn attention amid a dispute between rival Trinamool Congress factions over the party’s name and election symbol. The dispute has heightened political tensions around the contest.

Humayun Kabir, chief of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, and his son Golam Nabi Azad, the party’s candidate from Rejinagar, were not seen near the counting centre during the period described in the report.