Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen, in his judgement here yesterday, had declared null and void the election in Sabang Assembly constituency. The Left Front-supported candidate, Dr Makhan Lal Bangal of the Biblobi Bangla Congress (BBC), also a LF coalition partner, won the 1996 Assembly election over his Congress rival Manas Bhunia from here.

Bhunia, who lost the election to Dr Bangal by a margin of 825 votes, moved the High Court. In his judgement, Justice Sen observed that Dr Bangal had resorted to corrupt practices with the help of the police and election officers who had acted as his agents. Justice Sen observed, ``I am of the view that the corrupt practices have been proved in this case.''

The judgement has buttressed the allegation of the State's Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, theCongress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which have been accusing the LF, particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of the ``malpractice during both the Assembly and Parliamentary elections.''

The judgement has also embarrassed the State Election Department, as evident from their `subdued' reaction. A senior official told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, ``We cannot comment unless we get the copy of the judgement.''

The judgement seems to have left both the LF and the CPI (M) worried. State CPI (M) leader and the party's Politburo member Biman Bose said: ``We are consulting legal experts and the next course of action will be planned soon.'' Hinting that the LF may move the Supreme Court, Bose told this reporter, ``We will take all legal precautions in this matter.''

Congress candidate Dr Manas Bhunia, who won the Sabang Assembly seat in 1982 and 1991, told The Indian Express: ``The High Court judgement is a victory for the voters of Sabang and democracy.''

Ajubilant Bhunia said: ``This also proved that so far, we have been right in pointing out that elections here are rigged and the CPI (M) uses all its resources to maneouvre poll results.''