The Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit on Thursday moved the Supreme Court alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress was not allowing its candidates to file nominations for upcoming panchayat elections. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the matter on Friday.

In its plea, the BJP also sought to extend the deadline to file nominations for the civic polls. The last date to submit nominations is Friday. The BJP claimed that its candidates were unable to file nominations because of state-sponsored violence. The party sought deployment of Central Reserve Police Force during the panchayat elections too.

“To ensure free and fair rural polls, central forces are required,” party state president Dilip Ghosh said before approaching the top court. “We will plead before the apex court to ask the state election commission to request for central forces. We will plead for the deployment of central forces in the entire poll process, from nomination to polling days.”

The BJP’s plea comes a day after a man was killed outside the office of the block development officer in West Bengal’s Bankura district. The saffron party has claimed that the deceased, Ajit Murmu, was its candidate in the panchayat elections. It accused the Trinamool Congress of murder. The West Bengal Police are yet to confirm the victim’s political affiliations or his attackers’ identity.

The Congress too filed a plea in Calcutta High Court, seeking the court’s intervention to conduct the panchayat elections peacefully, reported ANI. The panchayat polls will be held in the state in three phases on May 1, May 3 and May 5. The counting of votes will take place on May 8.