NEW DELHI: Opposition parties in Bengal doubt whether there can be a free and fair electoral process for municipal elections to be held in West Bengal in the second week of April, keeping in mind the widespread violence and how about 30% of the total panchayat seats went uncontested in the state during the Panchayat elections held in 2018.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the largest opposition party in West Bengal, has already raised this concern with the State Election Commission and other government authorities who would be responsible for conducting the local body elections.
Debjit Sarkar, president, Yuva Morcha of the BJP’s Bengal unit, told The Sunday Guardian, “The situation in Bengal is of anarchy and the BJP fears that there would be widespread violence in the run-up to the municipal polls, and we are certain that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons will certainly do it, because the local body elections are state controlled.” Debjit Sarkar also pointed out how the panchayat elections in West Bengal n 2018 witnessed widespread violence. He said, “The panchayat elections witnessed a never before seen kind of electoral violence in the country. Candidates were being attacked on their way to nomination filing, voters were being threatened and the police acted as the ruling TMC’s cadre. More than 100 people lost their lives in that election and more than 300 people were injured.”
The panchayat elections were conducted under the leadership of Ariz Aftab who was the then Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal and the state government has not removed Aftab from the position yet and even the municipal polls are likely to be held under his leadership which has raised more serious questions about a free and fair electoral process in the local body elections in Bengal.
Even the Opposition Congress and the CPM, who are going to contest this local body election in an alliance, have raised serious doubts over the fairness of the electoral process which is likely to start by early next month.
A delegation of the BJP headed by senior BJP leader Mukul Roy has also knocked the door of the state election commission, seeking to delay the election by a month given that Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations are currently being held and would continue till 30 March, leaving very little time for the political parties to campaign. The West Bengal government had earlier restricted the use of loudspeakers during this period to ensure that no disturbance is caused to the board examinees.
Mukul Roy, senior BJP leader and convenor of elections in West Bengal, told The Sunday Guardian, “We have apprised the Election Commission of our concern. We have also apprised the Commission of a Calcutta High Court order in 2011 which had advised the Commission to conduct elections after all examinations in the state are over. If the elections, which is likely to be held on 12 April, are finalised, then we will be left with just 10 days to campaign for the elections which is of course too little time. Now, it is up to the commission to decide.”
The dates for the local body elections are decided and declared by the state government in consultation with the state election commission which made the BJP delegation knock the commission’s door.
Oopposition parties are also apprehensive about the use of ballot papers instead of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) in the local body elections because of the misuse of the ballot system in the past in these same elections.
A state BJP functionary told this correspondent how ballot papers and ballot boxes can be misused by the ruling party to ensure a victory in its favour.
“The ballot papers were used in the panchayat and the last municipal elections held and it is very easy to manipulate and tamper with them. Ruling parties who have the police and the entire election machinery in their hands easily bring out some sets of voting ballot papers and can use them to cast votes in favour their candidates and deposit it the ballot box through a genuine voter who supports the party. Ballot papers are also misused at the time of counting and also during the time of transportation. The EVMs would be the best possible method to cast vote.”
However, when this newspaper contacted Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab through calls and messages to seek his response on these allegations and the preparedness of the municipal polls by the Commission, Aftab did not reply till the time of going to press.