Amid complaints of large-scale violence Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress has registered a record number of uncontested wins in the first phase of panchayat elections scheduled to take place on July 2 and nomination process for which completed on Tuesday.
In the first phase about 7,500 panchayat seats have been won uncontested. Out of these the Trinamool has won almost 7,000 gram panahayat seats State Election Commission sources said after scrutinising the nomination forms.
The figure constitutes about 13 percent of the total seats up for the grab. The Trinamool broke the earlier record scripted by the then ruling left Front in 2003 by winning 11 percent seats uncontested. The left Front could win only 149 uncontested panchayat samiti seats while the Congress bagged about 20 and the BJP 8, Commission sources said.
State Opposition leader Suryakanto Mishra said the Marxists were forced to withdraw their papers in about 2,000 seats while in the remaining cases they simply failed to file nomination in the wake of large-scale violence perpetrated by the ruling party goons.
Most number of uncontested wins came from Bankura, Hooghly, Birbhum and Coochbehar, sources said.
Curiously, the Trinamool used to make similar complaints when they were in the Opposition. The left leadership had in fact in 2003 reacted to the Trinamool allegations of pre-poll violence saying there was nothing that the ruling party could do if the Opposition failed to file candidates.
The nomination papers bear stains of blood, Congress leader Manas Bhunia said, reminding how the BDO and SDO offices were bloodied by the Trinamool in the preliminary round of the polls.
The Congress on Tuesday petitioned the Calcutta High Court showing how the State Election Commission had been flooded with complaints from the candidates.
The Court had earlier directed the State to make adequate arrangements to man the nomination process. And the Government had undertaken to send 300 companies of police personnel for the same. But the Government could only manage 4 companies. The shortage of force led to large-scale violence.
Meanwhile State Government sources said the Centre had finally decided to send forces for the rural polls. Earlier Delhi had refused to entertain the State’s request for 300 companies of central forces.
Home Minister Sushil Shinde on Monday had a talk with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee whence he acquiesced to the State’s request to send Central forces. Mr Shinde has asked the Chief Minister to send fresh request through the Chief Secretary after which the Centre would send forces a senior official at the Writers’ Buildings said.