At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured in West Bengal on Saturday as rival parties clashed amid widespread booth capturing and violence that marked the panchayat elections in the state.
Violence raged from north to south as state police personnel remained mute spectators. While officially 822 companies of Central forces were requisitioned and 635 companies had reached the state until election day morning, on the ground not one Central force personnel was to be seen at the hotspots.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress traded barbs on the way the elections were conducted. BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Chief Electoral Officer Rajiva Sinha for the violence.
“Bloodshed in West Bengal in Panchayat Election. TMC candidate killed an independent Muslim capturing. CM @MamataOfficial along with @CEOWestBengal is responsible for these murders,” he tweeted.
He further accused the West Bengal government and the state polling body of “hoodwinking” the court’s order which directed the deployment of Central forces in all the districts. “On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civic volunteers are deployed for election duty. This clearly shows that the State Government and
SEC have hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons?” he added.
Meanwhile, Kunal Ghosh, the Trinamool Congress spokesperson alleged that three of its party workers were “murdered” in multiple incidents of violence in the state after polling for the single-phase panchayat elections began on Saturday morning.
“Shocking and tragic incidents send shockwaves through the voting community. Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol,” tweeted the All India Trinamool Congress.
Trinamool’s spokesperson and state minister Shashi Panja asked why the Central forces had failed to protect the citizens.
“TMC workers have been murdered, two have been shot at.
Those who were asking for deployment, saying that these Central forces are the guardians of peace—the guardians have failed, failed to protect the rights of citizens,” Panja said.
The TMC claimed that a BJP candidate poured water into the ballot box in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, while the Central forces looked the other way.
“Their demand for deployment of Central forces now seems like a calculated move to enable their dirty tactics. This level of blatant sabotage is an insult to democracy,” the Mamata Banerjee-led party claimed.
Amit Malviya, co-incharge West Bengal and BJP IT-cell head, shared a video and tweeted, “Bombs hurled around polling stations in Bengal’s Murshidabad. WB police, it seems, has been told not to act. There is no semblance of free and fair poll… SEC and WB Govt are in contempt of Court’s directions. They haven’t deployed CAPF, despite the force being stationed in Bengal…”
Malviya alleged that the panchayat elections have been reduced to a farce. “No CCTV cameras, no recordings… Several thousand booths have inadequate security arrangement… SEC is facilitating capture of booths by TMC goons,” he added.
Even as Amit Malviya was tweeting about the disturbances, saying: “It’s a blood soaked Panchayat election. Madhab Biswas, BJP’s polling agent, murdered by TMC goons, in Coochbehar’s Phalimari village. Where is the SEC? Mamata Banerjee has the blood of innocent people on her hands. Her draconian regime must end in West Bengal…”, the Trinamool Congress was tweeting the opposite. Its official Twitter handle @AITCofficial read: “Deeply touched by the love showered upon us! The overwhelming support from the people of West Bengal for our progressive vision and commitment to grassroots development is truly empowering. With pride, Bengal chooses to stand strong on the side of progress and inclusive growth.”
In a phone conversation with The Sunday Guardian, BJP’s national vice president Dilip Ghosh lashed out at the TMC saying it was trying to kill democracy in West Bengal: “Bombs and guns have been ruling the roost in rural Bengal for quite some time, and we have been raising the matter over and over again. Crude bomb factories were unearthed over the months, sack-full of bombs were retrieved from houses in many areas, arms and ammunitions were also recovered. Trinamool has known for a long time now that they will never be able to win any election fair and square, so they have resorted to these unholy routes to capture votes and that is exactly what they are doing. The number of deaths is expected to increase.”
State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha said that the Commission had received 1,200-1,300 complaints from across the state regarding the voting process. He said that on Monday, the SEC would scrutinise reports from all booths with the observers and returning officers and then decide if any repolling was necessary.
He claimed to reporters that reports of disturbances had come from “just three-four districts like North and South 24-Parganas, Cooch Behar and Murshidabad”. He claimed that the Election Commission had taken all steps to ensure that voters could peacefully exercise their franchise.
He also blamed the Ministry of Home Affairs for the delay in sending the Central forces to the state. “If the Centre had taken prompt action on our letter of 25 June, then we would have received the forces earlier and they could have been deployed more effectively,” he told reporters.
(With inputs from Indrani Ghosh in New Delhi).