The violence in elections for 107 municipalities in West Bengal on Sunday brought back memories of the panchayat polls of 2018.
Around 1,400 complaints have been submitted to the state election commission. Repolling has been ordered at two booths. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had on Monday called for a 12-hour bandh, with the Congress demanding a repoll and protesting outside the SEC.
The Left, too, protested outside the EC.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2018?
In May 2018, at least 25 people were killed in West Bengal, amid low-intensity bomb attack, booth capturing, ballot boxes set on fire, vandalism and attacks on journalists.
The uncontested win of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders amid the mayhem, resultant discontent and the Supreme Court’s concern had hampered the TMC’s numbers in 2019, marking the rise of the BJP in West Bengal.
THE 12-HOUR BANDH
On Monday, governor Jagdeep Dhankar asked the EC officer to visit him and the SEC briefed him on the polls. The governor also asked the SEC to look into the matter of repoll.
Although the bandh did not have much effect, the BJP is not going to leave the issue.
Party insiders said they will take up the issue on every level.
Suvendhu Adhikary, leader of opposition, said in Nandigram: “I have kept everything on record, everything has been noted. We will look at it after March 10. I am telling Hindu villages to be alert, we are building up Durgabahini in various villages.”
In 2018, the Supreme Court had observed that “thousands and thousands seat goes uncontested shows that grass-root level democracy was not working”.
This time, too, the BJP plans to take this issue in court.
However, Partha Chatterjee, secretary general of TMC, said: “They can’t fight on ground that’s why they resort to bandh and court.”
The BJP on Monday had rounds of meeting to formulate a plan to take up this issue.
National convener of BJP IT cell Amit Malviya tweeted: “Bandh called by @BJP4Bengal in protest against widespread violence, booth capturing and denying people the right to exercise their franchise in the civic polls, was hugely successful. People supported it voluntarily and stayed away.”
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