West Bengal faceoff
The countdown to the Assembly elections in West Bengal is seeing the fierce TMC-BJP faceoff assume ugly proportions. With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recovering in a hospital after the injury she sustained after filing her nomination from Nandigram, the TMC has alleged that the attack took place at the BJP’s behest and because of the removal of police officers, alluding to the transfer of the state DGP. While the police have cited ‘crowd control lapse’, the TMC is pressing for a high-level inquiry, alleging that the Election Commission was taking over the law and order machinery in the state in the name of conducting elections.
The Election Commission prides itself on ensuring the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections across the length and breadth of the country, whatever the challenges. West Bengal poses a huge test. The state has a history of poll violence and has seen attacks on the convoys of political leaders and workers in the run-up to the elections. With passions running high and given the intensity of the campaign to deny the country’s only incumbent woman Chief Minister another term and her determined bid to win yet again, the elaborate eight-phase election schedule is bound to keep the EC officials on their toes. Paramilitary forces have been deployed early this time, and their presence will hopefully curb incidents of violence. The special observers appointed by the EC also have their hands full to make sure that all measures are taken to instil confidence and prevent irregularities.
Leaders of the Trinamool Congress knocked at the EC’s doors on a day when a delegation of farmers led by Rakesh Tikait arrived in the poll-bound state to campaign for the repeal of the three farm laws. There is no dearth of political drama in the state, and it is only going to get more intense. Mamata Banerjee is no stranger to fighting pitched political battles and has already displayed her resolve this time around. An electoral battle fought through EVMs and not on the streets is a fervent hope.
