With just hours left before the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, alleging that the BJP is organising free special trains from Surat to West Bengal to transport voters in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.Party leader Derek O’ Brien in a letter said that he came to know about the development through a social media post that the “BJP including its Gujarat unit has arranged and facilitated special trains and provided free travel, food and refreshment for transporting registered West Bengal migrant workers to the state”.Calling it a violation of election rules, O’Brien urged the Election Commission to issue a show-cause notice to the BJP and direct the registration of a complaint against its leaders. He also asked the Commission to instruct the BJP to include the entire expenditure on these “special trains” in its election expenses. The party further urged the Commission to ensure that no such services are provided to voters during the ongoing elections by the BJP.The TMC also alleged that the BJP’s “special trains” from Surat had already departed, with members of its Gujarat unit accompanying passengers to influence them to vote against the TMC. It further claimed that the BJP was arranging such transport through Indian Railways—which falls under the administrative control of the central government—raising “serious apprehensions of misuse of official position and access to state-controlled resources at public expense”.O’Brien also alleged that arranging “special trains” and providing free services amounts to “multiple corrupt practices” under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.As many as 152 Assembly seats in the state will go to polls in the first phase on Thursday. West Bengal is witnessing a direct contest between the BJP and the TMC. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been in power since 2011, is seeking a fourth consecutive term, while the BJP, the principal opposition in the state, is aiming to unseat her government.