This is happening not just in the villages but also in Kolkata.
New Delhi: The booth-wise results shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with the political parties during the West Bengal election are being used by political parties to identify and target the section of the voters who did not vote for them.
Multiple BJP leaders and voters from West Bengal told The Sunday Guardian that they are being targeted by goons allegedly protected by the ruling Trinamool Congress for not voting in favour of them, saying that they have analysed the data they have procured from the Election Commission and are peering through the booth-wise results.
One such BJP supporter from South 24 Parganas, on the condition of anonymity, told The Sunday Guardian that a large number of TMC supporters had raided their village in the wee hours of 3rd and 4th May since most of the members from their village had voted for the BJP.
“Around 60 to 100 men came to our village at night with TMC flags and have threatened us for not voting for the TMC. They have also beaten up few BJP workers who worked for the party in the elections. They have also threatened to not provide us with any benefit from the State government. We are really scared and the BJP is doing nothing to protect us,” said the BJP supporter.
While similar reports of booth-wise targeting are also being shared on social media. Multiple social media posts seen by The Sunday Guardian indicate that supporters of TMC were using the booth wise result to abuse and threaten voters of particular wards who did not vote for the TMC. Such posts were being shared by people residing not just in the hinterlands of Bengal but also in metropolitan cities like Kolkata.
While in areas like Maldah, Murshidabad, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur such targeted violence has become rampant with one section of the society targeting another section of the society based on the booth wise results.
A district-level BJP worker from Malda speaking to The Sunday Guardian said that they are living in constant fear in their area since targeted violence is rampant across several villages and the West Bengal police are acting like mere spectators.
“We are very scared, they (TMC goons) are identifying people who have voted for BJP or have supported them and are going to their villages to beat them up and burn down their villages. Some have even fled their villages. It is becoming really difficult to stay here since they are not going to leave us.” The district BJP leader told this newspaper.
Many electorates and BJP supporters stated that the Election Commission should not share booth wise results with any political parties since it makes easier for the winning party to identify the group or community that did not vote for their party and leads to targeted violence of deprivation of social welfare schemes to those areas and the sections of people who live there.