Trinamool Congress demands recount in Nandigram
Kolkata, May 2: The Trinamool Congress has demanded recounting in Nandigram constituency from which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had stood, alleging a number of illegalities in the vote counting process.
According to unofficial sources Banerjee lost the Nandigram assembly elections to BJP candidate and her former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari by around 1,700 votes. However, Election Commission could not confirm the result.
The TMC has written to the CEO requesting an immediate recounting of votes, party sources said, alleging "tampering and mismanagement of numbers from the EVM and said that the counting process was stalled from time to time and was not reported by the poll panel.
The party in its letter to the CEO also alleged that valid votes in favour of Banerjee were rejected while invalid votes for the BJP were counted.
The TMC also described the refusal of the Returning Officer to conduct recounting of the votes as "bad in law and coloured".
"We are looking into the matter. A decision will be taken soon," an official said.
Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari took to Twitter to thank the people for voting in his favour and choosing him as their representative.
"My sincere thanks to the great People of Nandigram for their love, trust, blessings, and support, and for choosing me as their representative and the MLA from #Nandigram. It is my never-ending commitment to be of service to them and working for their welfare. I am truly grateful!," Adhikari tweeted.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
