Violence is rampant and threats are flying in the air in West Bengal before the panchayat elections
After the Supreme Court’s Vacation Bench’s decision to uphold the Calcutta High Court decision, West Bengal would have the Panchayat elections under the shadow of central security forces. The central forces would ensure free and fair panchayat elections on July 8. They would not be deployed on the polling stations alone but across the state to maintain law and order. The SC Bench maintained that the state has a “history of violence” during local polls. The Panchayat elections in Bengal are a mammoth exercise involving elections to 75,000-odd seats. The polling would take place across 61,636 booths in the State in just one day. The supreme court maintains that “Holding an election cannot be a license for violence.” The supreme court order effectively takes away the state’s role in maintaining the law and order in the state. The apex court summarily rejected the West Bengal contention that only 189 booths out of 61,000 were identified as sensitive and ignored the fact that the State had over 50,000 police personnel to watch over the 189 booths. It is unfortunate that the courts have to intervene at every step to ensure free and fair elections which is ideally the duty of the election commission which can direct the central and the state government to make adequate arrangements for providing an atmosphere where people can cast their vote without fear.
But, there is definitely merit in Congress's contention that there is an atmosphere of fear in the state. Around 4,800 candidates - 1,500 of them from BJP backed off from contesting panchayat elections on the last day for withdrawal of nominations; many of them citing "pressure" as a reason for their withdrawal. Now just over 2 lakh contestants are left in the fray amid continued violence in some rural pockets. Five Congress workers, including a former MLA, were wounded in a clash in front of the block development office at Murshidabad's Burwan after goons snatched poll documents from candidates. BJP and Congress drove candidates into party offices or set up camps to protect them from TMC cadres who were allegedly threatening them to withdraw their candidature. A total of 670 Independents, mostly disgruntled TMC workers who had decided to go solo after being denied tickets, also backed out of the poll. The situation is so bad that Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury sat in protest outside the BDO's office, accusing "TMC-backed miscreant" of fomenting trouble to win seats in Burwan. The violence in West Bengal's Panchayat elections is a grim reminder of the challenges faced by the democratic process. Breaking this cycle of violence requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses political polarisation and strengthens law enforcement. The Onus lies with the Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who should ensure that TMC cadre does not hamper the voting process. Bengal is one of the few states in the country where grassroots democracy thrives but it must be ensured that it is free and fair and not achieved through intimidation which smears the whole process.