KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The Assembly poll battle in West Bengal, one of the sensitive states for election violence, will take place in two phases next month, a sharp drop from the eight-phase voting held in 2021.
Most of the parties, except the ruling Trinamool Congress, had urged the Election Commission to conduct elections in one or two phases to prevent violence. The TMC has expressed displeasure over for the two-phase elections.
“In the 2021 assembly elections, BJP had demanded elections in eight phases though we had requested the EC to wrap it up in four phases in view of the Covid pandemic. This time, it will be held in two phases because of the BJP’s demand,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. “BJP’s number of winning seats will come down to 27 this time from 77 they had won in 2021. We will come back again irrespective of the poll phases. TMC workers are always with people during their crisis,” he added.
Welcoming the EC announcement, Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, “People will see a new government led by BJP in Bengal within a few days and we will run the government from the Writers’ Buildings, instead of Nabanna, state secretariat. We will implement all our schemes, including `3000 to women per month and implementation of DA of state government employees, within 42 days after the election results.”
CPI-M state secretary Md Salim said, “We will see whether the EC can hold elections without fear, favour and violence. We will keep watch on whether all dead voters are removed from the list and every genuine voters, including 60 lakh belong to logical discrepancies, are included in the electoral rolls.”
Political analyst Subhomoy Moitra said, “The significant part is how far the commission can protect the democratic rights of every voter through fair and peaceful elections in Bengal. The number of phases hardly matters if people cannot vote without fear. We still are in dark about the fate of the 60 lakh voters in ‘under adjudication’ category.” Assembly elections in the state were held in two phases in 1976 when the CPI-M-led Left Front had formed the government.
The BJP has been preparing for months, conducting nine ‘Parivartan Yatras’ across the state to galvanise support and showcase its organisational strength. As infiltration has been highlighted as a major poll issue, the party has meticulously divided the state into three zones to execute its electoral strategy. “A year ago, we began grassroots work to bring ‘parivartan’ (change) in Bengal. Now, we have coverage down to the booth level,” a BJP functionary said.
The BJP’s campaign focuses on key criticisms of the TMC, including on law and order, infiltration, corruption, and appeasement politics. The party has reportedly planned over a dozen mega rallies for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “For the BJP, winning Bengal is the most demanding task, as the people seek change. This election is more crucial for us than contests in other states,” the functionary added.
BJP campaign banks on ‘Parivartan Yatras’
The BJP has been preparing for months, conducting nine ‘Parivartan Yatras’ across the state to galvanise support and showcase its organisational strength. The BJP’s campaign focuses on key criticisms of the TMC, including on law and order, infiltration, corruption, and appeasement politics.