[Reader-list] Bengal Polls: Terror & Mayhem

[A. Mani]

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Bengal Polls: Terror & Mayhem

Terror & Mayhem Rule the Roost



An unprecedented atmosphere of terror prevailed during the second
phase of the panchayat elections in West Bengal held on July 15.
Booth capturing and rigging were the order of the day as Burdwan, East
Midnapore and Hooghly districts went to polls. A large numbers of
seats in these three districts had already been snatched away by
ruling TMC as Left Front candidates were not allowed to file
nominations or were forced to withdraw in the face of brutal terror.
In the rest of the seats, TMC gangs wrecked havoc by widespread booth
capturing, not witnessed in the state for decades.

In Burdwan, the TMC brought in gangs from outside the district, who
infiltrated into the district during the last two days. Right from the
morning the TMC started a full fledged attack on booths in almost all
areas. In Jamuria, Sheikh Hasmat, the husband of a CPI(M) candidate,
Monowara Bibi, was killed in a bomb attack at Madhudanga gram
Panchayat. Engraged villagers chased the miscreants and one of them,
Rajkuma Kora, was beaten to death.

In Rayna, widespread attacks took place. Many booths were captured.
When CPI(M) district council candidate Suprava Karfa complained, she
was arrested. TMC gangs captured many booths in Galsi, Aushgram,
Kalna, Khandaghosh, Mangalkote, Ketugram. By afternoon, primary
estimates said more than 700 booths were fully or partially rigged and
captured in Burdwan district alone.

In East Midnapore, elections turned into sham in many areas. In
Nandigram, TMC activists gheraoed booths and obstructed voters from
reaching booths in many areas. In some areas, the independents, mostly
TMC rebels were attacked. In Sonachura, in Nandigram, ballot boxes
were brought outside the booth and polling took place in open. This
was done to prevent any voter from casting votes against the TMC.
CPI(M) and Left Front agents were chased out of polling booths in
Egra, Ramnagar, Patashpur, Panshkura and Moyna. In Kanthi, home to
father-son (Adhikaris) MPs duo of TMC, villagers were attacked to
instill fear among villagers and prevent them from going to polling
booths. Central forces were kept idle while the TMC gangs roamed
freely. Hundreds of booths witnessed looting of votes, openly. The
state police forces were not issued any order to obstruct TMC gangs.
They remained mute spectators.

In Hooghly, the TMC had already ‘won’ in all three tiers in 362 booths
‘without contest’. Here no votes were cast. In Dhanekhali, Polba,
Tarakeswhar, Arambagh and Haripal, TMC armed gangs created terror with
the help of the police. They stormed booths, beat up CPI(M) polling
agents, and stamped ballots in one booth after another. In Arambagh
alone, 136 booths were captured. In Salepur in the same subdivision
women came out of their homes and took on the miscreants after the
CPI(M) polling agent was kidnapped. CPI(M) candidates were attacked in
many places. In Uttarpara, CPI(M) panchayat samiti candidate Shuvra
Chatterjee was attacked and she suffered head injury. Piyush Dhar,
another candidate in Debanandapur was grievously attacked. In Nabagram
area, a gang of bikers went from booth to booth chasing away voters.

Nearly 1500 booths have been captured in the three districts that went
to the polls on July 15. The CPI(M) has demanded repoll in 890 booths
of Burdwan alone.

INN/Kolkata.



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A. Mani


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A. Mani
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