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All party meeting called by the chief electoral officer of West Bengal ahead of the crucial fifth phase

Bengal election-Corona

Aariz Aftab, the chief electoral officer of West Bengal has called for an all-party meeting on April 16.This decision came after Calcutta high court ordered the CEO and other officials to ensure strict implementation of the Covid19 protocols during the campaign for the upcoming phases of the Bengal election. The concern for the coronavirus crisis is real, given the spread of the second wave in India. Apart from that, West Bengal election 2021 has shown fare share of violence between the party-workers of TMC and BJP. Both of these necessitate the all-party meeting.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

For this meeting, all of the parties have been asked to send one representative for the discussion. Aariz Aftab said that State additional director general of police (law and order) Jag Mohan and state health secretary N S Nigam will also be present in the meeting.

A division bench presided by Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan upon hearing two PILs in this regard, ordered all officials at district levels to ensure that the guidelines laid down by the ECI and CEO are strictly implemented.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

On Wednesday, a delegation of TMC MPs, stepping up the party’s criticism of the Election Commission of India, met its officials. The delegation submitted a memorandum alleging shortcomings of the apex poll body during the assembly polls in West Bengal.

Four out of eight phases of West Bengal Assembly elections are over. Voters have decided the fate of candidates in 135 of 294 seats. The remaining 159 seats will go to the polls between April 17 and 29.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The fifth phase of Bengal election, to be held this Saturday, has the maximum number of seats going to the polls. This is a crucial phase of the Bengal Assembly election 2021.

Forty-five (45) assembly constituencies that are going to vote in the next phase are the ones where BJP collectively had more votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election than the TMC. BJP had got nearly 45 percent votes compared to the TMC’s 41.5 percent. But, in terms of seats, the TMC led with 23 seats and the BJP was at 22.

Speaking minutes after the end of the 24 hour ban on campaigning imposed on her by ECI, Mamata Banerjee asked the people to vote in a united manner, and pointed out that she was not being allowed to campaign while BJP leaders are free to do so.

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Sitakulchi firing-Facts on the ground do not add up with the claims by the central forces

Bengal election

West Bengal election 2021 has shown its fair share of violence between the party-workers of TMC and BJP. But, on April 10, it spilled between the people who came to vote and the central forces.

The state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke at a press conference in Siliguri today. At the conference, Ms. Banerjee asserted that the killing of the villagers by the central forces was nothing but genocide. She added, “They fired by targeting chest. If their intention was to disperse mob, they may fire on leg, but they targeted chest. They are CISF. They have no experience to control mob.”

Union home minister, Amit Shah, who is attending rallies across West Bengal on Sunday stated, “Mamata’s advice to gherao central forces instigated people to attack CISF personnel.” He is scheduled to attend rallies & roadshow in Basirhat Dakshin & Panihati.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Belligerence of Mamata Banerjee hurling genocide comment towards centre is not an ungrounded behaviour. The West Bengal CM may be highly vocal & belligerent right now, as the election season is on, but there is something worth underscoring with regards to the shootout in Sitalkuchi. The firing at the people in the polling station at Sitalkuchi should be taken as a foretelling of what can be expected in the state if the saffron camp manages to breach the victory-mark. The CISF claimed that the crowds surrounded them which forced them to open fire. But, the ground reality does not account for it, even after taking into calculation the disparate angles. The facts simply do not corroborate it.

Also Read: Dark-Side of BJP- A friend in foreign soil- Access to an oversight-immune path of funneling money-Election-Season

People from various places, like Burdwan, Bandel, Hooghly, Alipurduar, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Maldah, Birbhum, Kolkata, and its suburban areas have disclosed to the Media outlet that goons, hired by BJP are effectively carrying out the campaigning and flag-marches for the BJP leaders. (A common condition of all the sources for disclosing their observations is anonymity.)  Apart from that, it has also been observed that BJP has been hiring the former workers from Left-front, and TMC in the state in places where the party hopes to make some gains in the assembly election. It has been a case in Nandigram, the main battleground between BJP &TMC, where BJP has put people (from the once politically relevant Harmad bahini) with criminal records and with known cases of atrocities on farmers, on its payroll.

Hiring of goons by political parties is not new in Indian political scenario, especially in the make-or-break condition in the West Bengal election. But, there is something unique in the firing carried out by the central forces, which hints at intentional targeting of the minority groups.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

The region of Sitalkuchi is a place with a majority population of Muslims, which is an electoral trouble for BJP, to put it in sober terms. In the polling station in Sitalkuchi with Muslim-majority, there were reports of a boy Mrinal/Minal Haque being shot at by the central forces. The boy hailed from the Jorpatki village in the region. That was followed by the local people assembling around the polling stations in protest of the firing. Then four more people were shot at. They were Hamidul Milan (31), Monirujjaman Mian (28), Samiul Haq (18) and Noor Alam Mian (20). This is not a normal pattern for the central forces when responding to political violence in West Bengal. Disturbances in other regions with Hindu majority never led to firing by the security forces. The firings have led to the cancellation of the election in the region and a highly possible and deliberate implanting of fear in the mind of voters from the Minority community.

Confusion over the trigger of the shootout

Regarding the trigger-moment of the shootout, central security forces and the villagers have completely different scenarios to tell.  The central forces stated that near polling booth number 126, a boy fell unconscious on the ground and started frothing at the mouth, which triggered the chaos. Villagers alleged that the boy was killed by the central forces when they were escorting 50-60 men (BJP voters) led by some BJP men towards the polling booth. On top of it, there was also confusion about another incident where a first-time voter was shot dead by two miscreants riding a bike near polling booth number 285. The shootout which killed the four people named earlier had taken place near polling booth number 126 and is unrelated to the incident near polling booth number 285.

It remains clear whatever the trigger was, the central forces had indeed shot down four people from a minority community.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

In 2019, the doubts of the opposition parties were bolstered by a report that stated that 19 lakh polling machines- EVMs are missing. The report came in response to PILs and RTI applications asking for information on the “vulnerability” and “unreliability” of EVMs.

This raises questions about whether central forces are under influence from the central government led by BJP to use a hammering attitude towards the minority voters to impact voting. That leads to further doubts over the claims by the security forces and the Election Commission of India of being impartial. It should be noted that the violence by the central forces in Sitalkuchi has been used by the ECI to draw 71 more companies of central forces into the state.

All these along with the report suggesting the huge number (19 lakh) of EVMs missing, lend a strong credence to the concerns raised by Mamata Banerjee regarding the Election Commission and the central forces being in cahoots with BJP to manipulate the election in Bengal.

Election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29, with four phases remaining, and the vote counting will take place on May, 02.

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Second Notice issued to Mamata Banerjee by election commission of India over comments on security forces

A second notice in as many days has been issued to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by the Election Commission of India. The notice asked her to explain her comments on the central security forces, which had violated the model code of conduct.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

The first-three of the total eight phases of West Bengal’s assembly elections are now over and the electorate in 91 constituencies have already cast their votes. A total of 44 seats will go to polls on April 10 for the fourth phase.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

The Trinamool Congress supremo had allegedly asked people to “gherao” central security forces at an election rally. The forces have been deployed by the poll panel in the state to ensure free and fair elections, with serious allegations and complaints levelled against them including that of sexual assault. The fourth of the eight phases of polling in the state will be held on April 10.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

The CM has been asked by the Election Commission to send her reply by 11 am on April 10.

Speeches made by the West Bengal Chief Minister on March 28 and April 7 were cited by the Election Commission of India.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

The earlier notice was sent to Mamata regarding her comment over split in Muslim vote.

In this regard, it is also worthwhile to note that a complaint was submitted to the Election commission by Derek O’Brien regarding a sexual assault carried out on a minor girl by a CRPF jawan in Tarakeshwar, on which the ECI has still not responded to.

Vote counting for the West Bengal assembly election will be held along with those for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry on May 02.

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Mohua Moitra hit back at Election Commission for sending notice to Mamata Banerjee

TMC-ECI

Election Commission of India on Wednesday evening had issued a notice to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “openly demanding votes on communal grounds” during a campaign-rally in Tarakeshwar.  The notice was sent while Election Commission’s response to the complaint on CRPF-jawan raping a minor girl is still being awaited.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Today was the last day of campaigning for phase-4 of West Bengal election, while the issue of notice to Mamata Banerjee has riled up the TMC & its associates in the electoral battleground in the state.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

In a response to this, TMC MP Mohua Moitra has hit back at the Election Commission. She tweeted that, “Mamatadi issued notice by Election Commission on BJP’s complaints. What about TMC complaints. At least keep up the farce of impartiality.”  MP Moitra  pointed out the complaints of TMC regarding video evidence of BJP candidate distributing cash & cash coupons being distributed to attend BJP meetings & vote.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

In February, MP Moitra’s speech had shaken up the parliament where apart from castigating the BJP-led central government, she had taken potshots on a former chief justice who had expunged himself of charges of sexual assault and moved to Rajya Sabha.

Also Read: From the National anthem to former CJI- Mohua Moitra’s speech that shook the parliament

Election Commission of India has given 48 hours to Mamata to explain her speech at the rally held in Tarakeshwar. In this regard, it is also worthwhile to note that a complaint was submitted to the Election commission by Derek O’Brien regarding a sexual assault carried out on a minor girl by a CRPF jawan in Tarakeshwar, on which the ECI has still not responded to.

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Mamata Banerjee to skip Modi’s meet with CMs on COVID situation

modi mamta

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will skip the virtual meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to discuss the Covid-19 situation with state Chief Ministers, as the country is witnessing a sharp spike in daily Covid-19 cases.

Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay is likely to attend the meeting in place of the chief minister.

Banerjee’s decision to skip the Covid-19 meet with PM Modi comes in the backdrop of ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal in which her ruling Trinamool Congress party (TMC) is engaged in a fierce battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Voting for 294-member assembly elections is underway in West Bengal. It is taking place in eight phases and three phases have already taken place. It will conclude on April 29 and the counting will take place on May 2.

Earlier this week, the prime minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the Covid vaccination program in the country.

Modi had said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic, according to an official statement that was released after the meeting.

India registered a record single-day spike of 1,26,789 new COVID-19 cases, pushing its infection tally to 1,29,28,574, while the number of active cases too went upwards to breach the nine lakh mark again, Union Health Ministry data showed.

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Jaya Bachchan hailed Mamata Banerjee as a fighter & rallied in support of TMC candidates in Dumdum

One daughter of West Bengal (nijer meye), the CM of the state, received support from  another daughter of the state (dhonni meye-blessed girl), an actor of national fame in rally & roadshow at DumDum.

Jaya Bachchan, a ‘daughter of Bengal’, hailed as dhonni meye (blessed girl) carried out a procession followed by a crowd in support of Bratya Basu, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Dumdum Centre.

In West Bengal, this year’s assembly election  is a high-pitched battle with highly personal stakes between TMC which is looking forward to third term and BJP which is trying to make inroads into the state.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

On Tuesday, Jaya Bachchan started campaigning from the ice factory area in front of Dumdum municipality early evening. The road show with a huge number of people ended in Gorabazar area. TMC camp claimed that the promotion by a high-profile celebrity of the country will have a significant impact. Jaya Bachchan also did a road show in support of Trinamool candidate Chandrima Bhattacharya from North Dumdum Centre and Debashish Kumar from Rash Behari Centre.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Jaya Bachchan hailed West Bengal-CM Mamata Banerjee as a fighter who is fighting all the atrocities alone with a broken leg. Jayaji also took a swipe at BJP stating that no one has ever succeeded by intimidating Bengalis. She stated, “Bengalis never bow their heads before threat or intimidation.” Being an MP from Samajwadi Party (SP), Jayaji mentioned that she was in West Bengal on the instructions of the party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Also Read: Tendency to evade prediction & difference in voting for LS polls and assembly elections may surprise poll-pundits

In support for TMC, Jaya Bachchan added, “She (Mamata Banerjee) will accomplish what she wants. Bengal will witness further development under her leadership.” Jaya Bachchan flew into the state from Mumbai on Sunday evening with an agenda to rally for re-election of the Trinamool Congress on behalf of SP. Apart from SP; other prominent parties like NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, and JMM have extended their support to the TMC.

Also Read: NCP leader Sharad Pawar comes in support of Mamata Banerjee against the saffronisation of Bengal

After campaigning for Trinamool candidate Arup Biswas in Tollygunge on Monday, she came to campaign at Dumdum Assembly constituency on the same day. Subsequently, the road show started from the ice factory area with Bratya Basu. As the procession progressed, it practically turned into a mass flood. Not only Trinamool Congress workers, supporters, many ordinary people also joined. As the procession passed through Mandir Road, Jagannath Tiwari Road, Harimohan Dutt Road, Green Park, the common people on both sides of the road showered the ‘Blessed Girl of Bengal’ Jaya with flowers.

Also See: What do the manifestos promise as election begins in West Bengal

Regarding the procession, Bratya Basu said, “Jayaji is very happy to see our procession. She has repeatedly said that Mamata Banerjee will be the Chief Minister again. She even ended the road show with the support of the Dumdum workers.” Bratya also added, “I am personally very happy. It is a big deal that a Padma Shri recipient like Jayaji has come to the campaign on my behalf. We are happy that she came so far at the call of Mamata Banerjee.”

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

It is worthwhile to underline that in addition to the Dumdum assembly constituency, Jaya did a road show on behalf of Trinamool candidate Chandrima Bhattacharya of North Dumdum. In this regard, she took part in a huge road show from Kalyani Road, MB Road junction to Jessore Road junction. Everywhere, there was practically the same picture about the enthusiasm of the people joining the roadshow. The people of North Dumdum forming a mass-flood were hailing the Bengali daughter.

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Tendency to evade prediction & difference in voting for LS polls and assembly elections may surprise poll-pundits

Bengal Election

This year’s assembly election in West Bengal is a high pitched battle between TMC, which is looking forward to third term and the saffron camp getting desperate to make inroads into the state. TMC led by Mamata Banerjee gets uncomfortable on questions related to accountability, the continuance of Syndicate mafia, intra-party factionalism, promises of reversing the deindustrialization under Left front & exclusive decision making among Ms Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and poll-strategist Prashant Kishor. The last factor was a dominant reason for many turncoats in the party to jump-boat to BJP using the window of opportunity of securing one’s political future. The BJP gets piqued and choked up on questions related to its rhetoric which fuels communalism, religious polarization, zero works in improving the national economic situation, turning a literal blind eye to Bengal during Amphan and Corona crises, clamping down on voices of dissent and differences, which is central to the social-psychology of West Bengal.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

Poll-related violence in Nandigram

At the centre of the second phase of the high-pitched and to some extent personal battles of the West Bengal election, was the assembly seat of Nandigram, which saw spats of violence. At this seat, CM Banerjee is facing her former party-leader & her protégé, Suvendu Adhikari. The place failed to shrug off violence despite adoption of unprecedented measures by the Election Commission of India to maintain peace for a free and fair election.
Charges and counter-charges of intimidation of voters, rigging were volleyed by both BJP and TMC at each other. Incidents of polling agents being driven out & assault on voters and journalists were also exchanged throughout the day of the second-phase poll.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

At Boyal, the day of second-phase poll saw supporters of both the parties clash over charges of rigging. As early as 8am, both Trinamool congress and BJP alleged that their polling agents were not being allowed to sit inside several several polling stations. Political agents were driven away multiple times at Boyal-I and Boyal-II. Trinamool alleged that their polling agents from as many as 80 booths had been driven out. Forces were mobilized to reduce the figure to 8.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

In this regard, TMC lodged complaints with the Election Commission of India.  BJP complained that in as many as 122 booths, their agents had been driven out. Suvendu Adhikari rushed to Patrapara, where a BJP-supporter Uday Shankar Dobe committed suicide by hanging himself. His daughter Sabita alleged that her father was intimidated by TMC-supporters.  At Khadambari in Nandigram block I, some Trinamool supporters alleged that BJP was distributing puffed rice to allure voters. Pradip Mandal, a local panchayat official, stated that the saffron camp was doing this, triggering chaos, given the sure-shot probability that BJP would lose the election and its utter desperation.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

At Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister & TMC supremo-Mamata Banerjee had to be rescued by the Central paramilitary forces after having to stay confined for more than two hours at a polling booth amid an extremely tense face-off between BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters. The CM told the governor that the situation was a failure of the Election Commission, which was in charge of the law and order. But instead of responding to the situation, Governor Dhankar, who has shown his orientation towards the saffron camp time and agains, simply tweeted.

Also See: What do the manifestos promise as election begins in West Bengal

The wheelchair-bound Chief Minister added, “Anything might happen at any moment. There is total breakdown of law and order.” She also added that she was escorted out by the security forces, who managed to bring the situation under control after long-drawn negotiations with the villagers. Sitting outside the polling site, she wrote a complaint to Election commission, which might be the first instance of its kind in independent India.

Outside the polling station, the security forces were caught on camera shuttling between the two slogan-shouting groups who faced each other across a field, trying to broker peace.

Also Read: Loss of BJP in Bengal would send a message of assurance across the nation & Mamata Banerjee will win the third term

Voter-turnout

Over 83.95 percent voter turnout was recorded till 6 PM with the highest voting in Bankura and the lowest in Paschim Medinipur. Nandigram, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against Suvendu Adhikari, recorded 80.79 percent turnout. In total, 43 Ballot Units and CUs each were replaced following glitches across the state. A total of 192 VVPATs were replaced during polling of the second-phase.

Prominent among the incidents of violence was the case where stones were thrown at cavalcade of Suvendu Adhikari. However, it missed and hit media car instead. The incident took place in Takapura area of Nandigram. Also, a vehicle of media personnel was attacked near booth number 170 in Kamalpur, Nandigram. Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the TMC cadres were behind the attack.

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

Past trends’ analysis

The long-term trends of Assembly elections in West Bengal have shown that the incumbent government does return to power if it has performed reasonably well, has a credible mass leader and a believable political narrative. Those who do psephology know that the opinion polls are relatively weaker than the exit polls. In both opinion and exit polls, the most challenging task for pollsters is to accurately project seats rather than find out the probability of parties getting the exact percentage of votes.

In the recent past, political psephology has evolved & developed as a specialized field in political science to correct past mistakes of analyzing and calculating voting behaviour.  Methods of political psephology are derivatives of empirical political science and rational choice theory, rooted in mainstream Western social sciences. However, in the last few years, it has been noticed that the election results in the West and South Asian countries have surprised psephologists. In West Bengal, too, this has happened before, not once but twice. It was in 2001 & 2016 assembly elections.

Long-term trends of assembly elections in West Bengal show that the BJP gets fewer votes in percentage terms compared to parliament elections. A look at some figures of the past 12 years, when the independent strength of the Left has been dwindling provides some necessary insights. BJP got 6.14 percent votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. But in the 2011 Vidhan Sabha elections, it got only 4.06 percent votes. In the 2014 elections, it shot up to 17.02 percent votes in the wake of a pro-Modi and an anti-Congress wave in the Lok Sabha election. The vote share of BJP came down to 10.28 percent in the 2016 Vidhan Sabha elections. In 2019, the party surprised many pollsters and political pundits when its vote share touched 40.25 percent.
In Bengal, there was no alliance between the Left and the Congress. As a result, the anti-Trinamool vote got consolidated behind the BJP. Finally, the election was grounded on the RSS’s core issues, and emotions, centred on the Ram Mandir, CAA-NRC, abrogation of Article 370, and issues of national security and terrorism following the Pulwama attack were whipped up.

The state’s Opposition leader had said during the 2016 assembly elections that the Left-Congress alliance would get 200 seats. It ended up with just 77. In the run-up to the current elections, the Union home minister of India has said that the BJP will win 200 seats. This has been contested by the poll-strategist & I-PAC chief-Prashant Kishor, who has asserted that the BJP will not touch even 100 seats.

On an overall basis, the state has shown differences in voting behaviour for the LS polls and assembly election and this assembly election might also throw in surprising facets about the political choices and behavioural choices during elections.

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Phase-II election-Mamata Banerjee complained of heckling of female-journalists by BJP-men-voter turnout crosses 80% with Bankura leading at 82.78%

The voter-turnout recorded in phase-II election in West Bengal till 5.45 pm stood at 80.43%.  Bankura district, with 82.78 percent, witnessed the highest turnout while South 24 Parganas registered the lowest turnout at 79.66 percent till 5.45 pm.

TMC filed a complaint with Election Commission of India alleging capturing of 8 booths by BJP workers in Moyna. As per the complaint, the TMC alleged that BJP workers were attempting to take control of EVM and are rigging the booths. The complaint added, “The CRPF deployed at the booth is not taking any action.”

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

On Thursday, Election Commission of India sought a detailed report from the administration in connection with an incident of violence in Boyal area in Nandigram where TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee paid a visit to oversee the polling process.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

Chief Minister of the state, Mamata Banerjee asked Amit Shah to “control goons who are heckling woman journalists in rallies.” Ms. Banerjee said that she cannot reveal what she discussed with the election observer and the governor. CM Banerjee said, “I have not seen such a bad election.”

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

This year’s election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02.

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Phase-II election in West Bengal on April 01: Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari Face-off begins in a few hours

adhikari

In West Bengal, the second phase of Assembly elections will be held tomorrow, April 01. A total of 30 assembly constituencies will go for voting in this phase, out of which nine seats are in the East Medinipur district. Among these, Nandigram is one of the key constituencies as the Bengal Chief Minister- Mamata Banerjee is in the contest from that seat. The high-stakes & high-pitched second phase of the Assembly elections will witness an intense contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her former protégé & ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

The total number of polling booths in Nandigram is 355. Out of which 278 are main and 77 are auxiliary polling stations. Webcasting facility will be available in 278 booths. Total number of voters for the second phase is 2,57,156, out of which, 1,33,258 are male voters and 1,23,898 are female voters. All the booths where polling will be held in the second phase have been declared as “sensitive” by the Election Commission of India.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

A total of 2,000 central forces officials will be deployed for Nandigram, and 22 quick response teams will also be there to prevent any chaos. The local sub-divisional authority in Haldia, Purba Medinipur district have said that in accordance with specific directions of the Election Commission of India, and in the likelihood of violence, breach of peace and unwarranted incidents, Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed from 6:30 pm on March 30 till April 2.

Also See: What are the problem areas of TMC and the chances of BJP in this election season in West Bengal

Apart from Nandigram, other important constituencies that are going to polls for the second-phase include Tamluk, Panskura Purba, Panskura Purba, Moyna, Nandakumar, Mahisadal, Chandipur, Haldia. In West Medinipur, constituencies going to polls are Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal, Chandrakona and Keshpur. The centrality of this phase of election is clear from the activities of the Election Commission of India. Just 24 hours before the vote, Circle Inspector, Mahishadal, Bichitra Bikas Roy, has been replaced by Inspector, Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, Sirshendu Das. SDPO, Haldia, Barun Baidya has been replaced by Uttam Mitra. On April 01, voting will also take place in Bankura, Barjora, Onda, Bishnupur, Katulpur, Indus, Sonamukhi, Taldangra.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Meanwhile, another important district in the fray for the second phase is South 24 Parganas. The district contains 31 Assembly constituencies in total and is known as a TMC  stronghold. The TMC managed to win 29 of 31 seats in the South 24 Parganas. But, the saffron camp has also left no stones unturned during the election campaign in these areas. The promises that BJP made during the election campaign are also endless, from gathering people who were angry on cyclone Amphan relief to making Gangasagar an international fair. Constituencies that go to poll in South 24 parganas are Gosaba, Patharpratima, Kakdwip and Sagar.

Impact of weather-heatwave

Several parts of West Bengal have been reeling under conditions of heat-wave. It has been estimated that there would be no likely improvement in the situation over the coming days. Conditions will remain hot and humid. But many believe that public will queue in front of the polling stations from the morning overcoming all obstacles to elect their representatives, given the importance of this assembly election & the political awareness of Bengali voters.

Also See: Battle for Bengal gets pithier as election days  are getting closer

Question marks on ECI

In the context of West Bengal election, Election Commission of India, which was once reformed by TN Seshan (in early 1990s) is now facing serious questions over its legitimacy as an organization that coordinates the national and state elections. Its actions like declaring all the polling sites as sensitive, spreading the election over 8 phases, changing rules for polling agents, betrays its submissive attitude to the centre or rather BJP. It was also found out (by RTI activist Saket Gokhale) that for phase 5 polls, out of the affidavits for candidate-nomination, which were submitted on March 26, all were uploaded by ECI except that of the BJP candidate for Dhupgiri, Bishnu Pada Ray. As per transparency rules and requirements, such affidavits should be uploaded for all the parties at the same-time, for parity and transparency. But, ECI did not do so.

Also Read: Loss of BJP in Bengal would send a message of assurance across the nation & Mamata Banerjee will win the third term

West Bengal had reported 84.3 percent voter turnout in the first phase of polling on March 27. Election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02.

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Controversy erupts over a video file purportedly showing Mamata seeking help from BJP leader-suspicion of video-doctoring

mamta vs suvendu

The first phase of election in West Bengal for 30 assembly seats concluded today with few incidents of clashes and complaints regarding EVM machines from various polling-stations. A total of 191 candidates are in the fray for the first-phase.

In the heated theatre of the ongoing West Bengal election, a controversy erupted when a video clip was released by the BJP, in which CM Mamata Banerjee is seen cajoling a local leader from Nandigram to help her win the seat against her former protégé Suvendu Adhikari.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, met the state’s chief electoral officer and handed over the tape, claiming that Banerjee was using her official position to influence the outcome of the bitterly-contested high-pitched assembly poll.

Many people suspect that the video was doctored and that it was released to impact the voter sentiments on the very first day of polling. A source in Hooghly, on the condition of anonymity, asserted that the accent and the tone of the recorded speech make it clear that it was not Mamata’s speech.

The election in West Bengal is scheduled to be held in 8 phases from March 27 to April, 29 and the vote counting will take place on May, 02, 2021.