# Kapil Sibal accuses EC of jugalbandi with BJP in Bengal bypolls 2026-09-19T17:11:34+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday accused the Election Commission of being in a 'jugalbandi' with the BJP over the West Bengal bypolls, calling the arrest of Congress' Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan a 'daylight murder of democracy'. He alleged the EC froze the TMC symbol after nominations were filed and then delayed decisions, showing a lack of institutional accountability. Sibal said Milan Pradhan was arrested on September 18, shortly after Mamata Banerjee's TMC faction announced support for him, in connection with a 2007 incident. Police said Pradhan was arrested over four cases related to rioting and murder from the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement. Sibal described the sequence as an 'ugly nexus' between the EC and state authorities. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Deccan Herald and India Today both report Sibal's allegations neutrally, with India Today providing the full chronology of TMC faction disputes and symbol freeze that Sibal cited. Neither source includes a response from the EC or the government, so the story stands as a one-sided accusation. The key factual dispute is the arrest timing: Sibal says it followed the TMC support announcement, while police say it was based on warrants from 2021 and 2023. The EC's next step on the symbol freeze and by-election schedule will test whether institutional processes can answer these allegations. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Leads with Sibal's accusation and police explanation, no editorial slant - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Detailed chronology of Sibal's allegations and police case, no slant Tags: BJP, Election Commission, Kapil Sibal, Milan Pradhan, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kapil-sibal-accuses-ec-of-jugalbandi-with-bjp-in-bengal-bypolls/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kapil-sibal-accuses-ec-of-jugalbandi-with-bjp-in-bengal-bypolls/#story-in-brief