A tense State Election Commission kept its fingers crossed even as Bengal prepared to go into the second round of panchayat elections on Monday.
Worried SEC officials predicted violence in the second phase of polls when the people of three districts — East Midnapore, Hooghly, and Burdwan — go to exercise their voting right. “There are reports of threats by senior leaders of some parties and we have asked the District Magistrates and SPs to keep a close watch and tighten security,” a senior SEC official said.
In the second phase, 50,000 forces including 15,000 Central forces and 35,000 State forces would be deployed.
While extensive parts of Hooghly and East Midnapore — housing Singur and Nandigram respectively — are likely to witness massive violence, according to reports received by the Commission, Opposition Congress and the left complained hundreds of armed men had sneaked into Burdwan, once a CPI(M) stronghold, from Bankura and West Midnapore to trigger violence.
The SEC fear comes in the wake of a public speech by Trinamool MP Subhendu Adhikary that his party would keep a tab on who was voting in which party. “After the elections, we will take up the balance sheet and find out the odd balls who went against us in order to revive the CPI(M).”
The much talked about panchayat elections in Bengal is being held in five phases following a Supreme Court order that among other things directed that the polls would be held with the help of central forces. Curiously, however, “the district administrations under the instruction of the Writers’ Buildings had kept the Central forces out of the booths in the first phase allowing massive rigging and booth capturing”, Congress leader Abdul Mannan said, fearing more such incidents in the future phases.