The Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal witnessed a distressing repetition of history as the panchayat elections on Saturday resulted in uncontrolled violence, claiming the lives of at least 15 people and raising the total number of political deaths in the past 31 days to 33.
Numerous people, including voters, political workers, and policemen, suffered injuries in clashes that took place across the State, from Cooch Behar in north Bengal to Murshidabad in the central region and Kulpi in South 24 Parganas, according to sources in the police administration.
Among the deceased, seven were TMC workers, while two each belonged to the BJP, the Congress, and the Left, sources revealed. Out of the 15 deaths, Murshidabad district accounted for 5, followed by Cooch Behar (3), Birbhum, Malda, Nadia, and North Dinajpur districts.
The polling took place in 61,636 booths for 3,317 gram panchayats, 341 panchayat samitis, and 20 zila parishads.
Complaints of widespread rigging and blatant violation of the Calcutta High Court’s order regarding the deployment of Central forces poured in from all corners of the State, while lives were lost to gunfire and bomb attacks one after another.
Condemning the widespread violence in the panchayat elections, Union Minister Anurag Thakur accused the administration in Bengal was acting at the behest of the TMC and sought to know why “killings’’ started as soon as the poll begin and democracy was completely undermined.
He alleged that the Congress and Left were “hand-in-glove” with the TMC and wondered “why the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi are silent”.
He said “bullet has overtaken ballot” in Bengal and the message of the ballot has been undermined.
BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi also blamed the TMC for destroying State of Bengal by its politics.
He said the State used to be a center of art, culture, and science. Now, it is known for “crimes, anti-national activities, and dangerous appeasement”.
Addressing a Press conference here, he alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection.
Peaceful polling was reported in booths where the Opposition parties and local voters succumbed to false voting by ruling party members.
Despite inside sources at the State Election Commission (SEC) stating that polling reached around 55-60 per cent by 5 pm, Opposition parties feared that the polling rate might surge to over 80 per cent overnight due to the alleged nexus between the TMC and the SEC.
Throughout the day, clashes resulted in the looting, burning, and throwing of ballot boxes into ponds. Presiding officers and other poll officials were severely beaten in many booths and had to be hospitalised.
Even the police officers who attempted to control the mobs were not spared.
Soon after polling commenced, three TMC members were killed in Murshidabad. A CPI (M) worker who was injured in East Burdwan later succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
While the Opposition parties held SEC Rajiva Sinha responsible for the day’s mayhem, the poll panel chief, who is allegedly close to Mamata, stated, “The Commission cannot guarantee who will shoot whom during the elections... my job was to plan everything... now it is for the district administrations to explain their conduct.”
In a strong response, Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari declared, “This is the right time for Article 355 or 356 in Bengal, as you cannot expect any democracy in Bengal under Mamata.” The senior BJP leader demanded a CBI investigation into the poll violence on Saturday.
“The Commission had stated that all 95 per cent of booths would be covered by CCTV... we want all these CCTV footage to be scrutinized, and if it is evident that polls were not conducted freely and fairly, we will demand re-polling in those booths,” he added.
Meanwhile, State Congress leader and lawyer Kaustav Bagchi called for criminal prosecution of the SEC for its conduct since the announcement of the polls. “Despite the High Court’s order, out of 822 companies of Central forces, 16 companies did not arrive... the forces that did come were not deployed in many places and were taken on joyrides from here to there... this necessitates a judicial inquiry.”
Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury alleged that polling was conducted late at night in many places. He claimed, “Ballot boxes were taken out at night, false votes were cast, and then they were put back into the boxes before being returned to the polling booths.”
Chowdhury sarcastically congratulated Mamata for her meticulous planning to deceive the people of Bengal.
