In an unprecedented decision, the Election Commission of India has declared all the booths for the first phase of elections in five districts of Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and East and West Midnapore in West Bengal as sensitive.
This implies that all the 10,228 booths will have at least 4-8 Central forces jawans deployed, sources said, adding the EC has already banned “civic volunteers” or “green police” appointed by the State Government on a temporary basis from manning the polls.
The first phase — of the 8-phase elections — for 10 seats will take place on March 27.
Reacting to the EC’s decision to deploy Central forces in all the booths, Bengal Minister Tapas Roy said, “We respect the EC’s decision… they have the power to do so and they are doing accordingly … but the point is decisions should not be one-sided and favouring any one party.”
Meanwhile, more Trinamool Congress leaders quit the ruling party either “feeling insulted” at not being given a ticket or getting “inspired” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership ahead of the Assembly polls.
Sonali Guha, former Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker and a trusted lieutenant of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for many decades, on Monday left the ruling outfit along with other outgoing Legislators Dependu Biswas of Basirhat and Jatu Lahiri of Howrah.
Guha joined the BJP at its Hastings party office on Monday.
Former Bengal Minister and Singur MLA Rabindranath Ghosh too quit the party along with his son a local TMC leader. None of these outgoing MLAs were given nomination by the party and “felt insulted at not being consulted or even informed by the Chief Minister once about her decision to drop us …”
Guha a former Deputy Speaker said, “I had been with Mamata Didi like her shadow for decades … till she became the Chief Minister no one could even conceive a photograph of her without me by her side… I stood by her through all the rough times and see what I got at the end. I could not believe my eyes when my name was dropped,” the four-time MLA from Satgachia said.
She went on to add that Didi could at least have informed me personally … but she would not even call me up once.”
Sarala Murmu another former TMC MLA who was given nomination this time round from Habibpur in Malda district too left the party alleging “unruliness and lack of opportunity to work.” The TMC election committee was hurriedly trying to name another candidate from Habibpur, sources said.
Not only Murmu but at least 14 sitting members of Malda district board too left the party on Monday. All of them joined the BJP rendering the TMC into minority and prompting the saffron outfit to stake claim to form the Board, sources said adding the Trinamool leadership had swung into action to control the damage. A South Dum Dum councilor too had quit the party and joined the BJP, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second consecutive day on Monday for “peddling lies” against her Government.
Leading a huge women’s rally on the event of Women’s Day in Kolkata, Mamata attacked the Prime Minister for leading the “biggest syndicate of the country.” She said, “The Prime Minister is calling Bengal a crime hotspot whereas the BJP-ruled UP leads the country in incidents of rape … Gujarat too is high on the list of incidents of rape, murder and attempted murder,” wondering why the Prime Minister was not for once mentioning the rising prices of fuel and cooking gas.
“The women who have to bear the brunt of the price hike in their kitchens will give him a befitting reply in the elections,” the Chief Minister said alleging instead of handling the basic problems of the people the Prime Minister was more interested in renaming stadiums after his name.