19 killed during rural elections in West Bengal, as parties indulge in blame game

The three-tier polls for village-level government (panchayat) elections in the Indian state of West Bengal, which was under Communist Party control for 34 years until 2011, was marred by violence on Saturday. At least 19 lives have been lost amidst growing tensions between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On Monday, the State Election Commission ensured new voting was held in 696 booths across 19 districts, where the poll was declared void amid the violence and allegations of tampering with ballot boxes. Re-polling began at 7am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police, according to PTI news agency. However, ahead of the re-polling, fresh violence was reported from the district of Cooch Behar.

Home Minister Amit Shah is set to meet West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in Delhi on Monday evening, according to ANI news agency. The governor is likely to submit a detailed report on the violence that took place across the state over the weekend.

On Saturday, the rural electorate of the heavily populated but economically backward state cast their votes in 61,636 booths for 200,006 candidates, who were contesting in 73,887 seats. However, in two dozen districts instances of seizing polling booths, assaulting candidates, voters, and presiding officers, and crude bomb blasts were reported. Most of the violent incidents were registered in Murshidabad district. 

The violence has claimed the lives of members of both the ruling TMC party as well as the opposition, including BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress Party. The opposition parties have accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration of unleashing a “reign of terror,” with the BJP demanding the imposition of ‘President’s Rule’ in the state. 

Congress Party leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Digvijaya Singh, has raised the alarm about the spiraling violence. “I have been an admirer of Mamata for her grit and determination but what is happening is unpardonable. We know you bravely faced a similar situation in CPM [Communist Party-Marxist] rule but what is happening now is not good for our Democracy,” Singh tweeted.

The leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, who had switched to the BJP from the TMC in 2021 ahead of Bengal state elections, alleged “A free and fair election under the state administration is a mirage. It is only possible only if elections are held under President’s Rule or Article 355.”

Responding to the opposition’s allegations, the TMC party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed that most of the deaths reported were of those belonging to the ruling party. “So if Trinamool was instigating the violence, why would they target their own workers?” he asked.

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As violence raged across the districts, the political parties indulged in a blame game over the lack of deployment of federal security forces, despite the Calcutta High Court ordering the deployment of around 70,000 officers. State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha has alleged that the security forces failed to reach several polling places on time that were marred by violence. The BJP, too, claimed that the forces were not deployed in several sensitive voting locations.

Data pulled by the Indian Express showed that violence is entrenched in the state’s rural areas. The panchayat polls held in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 were associated with high death tolls. “According to unofficial statistics, approximately 80 people died in the 2003 panchayat elections, 45 in 2008, and in 2013, the toll was 31. The toll increased to 75 in 2018,” Biswanath Chakraborty, political analyst and professor of political science at Rabindra Bharati University, told the newspaper.