General Elections 2019 in the state of West Bengal has been witnessing violence ever since the Seven Phase election has begun. The story of violence during the elections is not only about this year, the violence is taking place since several years now.
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According to the reports of Mumbai Mirror, in the year 2010, 21 incidents of communal violence were recorded in West Bengal, 15 in 2011 and 23 in 2012.
While the average of such incidents was around 15 to 20 before 2014, according to the records of the Home Ministry, in the year 2015, there were 27 cases of communal violence. This number was increased to 32 and 58 in the years 2016 and 2017 respectively.
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There are a number of violence incidents taking place between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) reported from West Bengal in the on- going elections as well.
Here are the details of Communal Violence which has taken place in West Bengal during all the phases of the on- going general elections.
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Phase 2
Violence was reported from several places during the phase 2 in West Bengal, where polling was being held in three parliamentary constituencies.
The car of a Communist party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) candidate and sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Md Salim, who was contesting elections against the Congress’ Deepa Dasmunsi in Raiganj Constituency of West Bengal, was attacked in Islampur.
Salim claimed that the police did not do anything when his car was attacked. And his CPI (M) accused workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of the attack.
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In the same phase, security personnel fired tear gas shells and baton charged the agitators in North Dinajpur’s Chopra, who accused workers of the ruling party in the state of obstructing them from casting their vote. Agitators, who were blocking National Highway 31, also hurled crude bombs at the personnel of the local police and Rapid Action Force (RAF).
According to the reports, in Chopra, people were stopped by few miscreants from reaching their respective polling booths and they allegedly also snatched their EPIC cards or voter I-cards.
Meanwhile, Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) were also smashed following a clash between the supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP in booth number 112 in Chopra.
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Moreover, a reporter and a camera person of a local news channel were allegedly manhandled when they went to cover polling at Kataphulbari in the Raiganj constituency.
Phase 3
During the phase three polling in Murshidabad of West Bengal, three TMC workers were injured after some unknown people threw a bomb at them. According to reports, one person named Tearul Abdul Kalam, reportedly a congress worker, was lynched near booth no. 185 at Baligram-Murshidabad.
Phase 4
There is a very similar incident which took place in West Bengal like in Phase 2. The car of Union minister Babul Supriyo, who is the BJP candidate from Asansol, was vandalised outside a polling station. Supriyo alleged that Trinamool Congress workers had captured booths in several places.
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Violence was also reported from Birbhum district of West Bengal, where nine workers of the BJP and Trinamool Congress were injured. Central forces allegedly fired in the air inside a booth in Dubrajpur after villagers attacked them. The Trinamool Congress wrote to the Election Commission protesting against the forces’ action.
The BJP also asked the Election Commission to conduct re-polling in Chapra in Krishnanagar constituency, Chakdah in Ranaghat constituency, Barabani, Asansol, Pandaweshwar in Asansol constituency, and in all booths in Birbhum due to unethical practices during the polling.
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Phase 5
In the Phase 5, reports of violence started coming in from constituencies like Barrackpore, Howrah and Hooghly. BJP’s candidate in Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, was allegedly injured after a clash between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP workers. Singh also alleged that the miscreants were trying to intimidate voters.
BJP’s candidate in Hooghly, Locket Chatterjee, claimed that the state police forces were encouraging and facilitating rigging in some booths at Dhanekhali area in Hooghly. However, the officer in the booth said that 712 of around 1200 votes were already polled when Chatterjee stormed into the polling booth and accused the officials of rigging.
Reverting to the allegation, a miscreant entered the booth and broke the EVM. As a result polling was suspended at the booth. Meanwhile, some media vehicles were also attacked.
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The violent acts didn’t get over here, Trinamool Congress candidate, Prasun Bandyopadhyay was, however, reportedly heckled near a polling booth in Howrah. Reports of violence also came from Bongaon constituency, located near the Indo-Bangla border. Bombs were hurled at police forces in which a police constable and a TMC worker got critically injured.
Phase 6
Even after having deployed extra security in West Bengal for the sixth phase of polling, violence could not be preventing from breaking out yet again. Eight seats, including those from around the tribal belt of Purulia and Jhargram, went to the polls in the sixth phase.
In this phase even before polling could begin, reports of political clashes and deaths came in from across these eight seats, especially, East Midnapore, Kanthi and Jhargram.
Reports also revealed that a BJP worker and a TMC worker were found dead in Jhargram and Kanthi. The reports also claimed Ananta Guchait and Ranjit Maity, both BJP workers, were shot dead in Bhagabanpur of East Midnapore in West Bengal.
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The BJP worker, who first went missing, was later found dead late at night. He was identified as Raman Singh. The body of Sudhakar Maity, the TMC worker who also went missing on the day, when Singh went missing, was found in Contai in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal.
On the Polling day, a couple of EVM malfunctions were reported from Bankura and Bishnupur of Bankura . The State Election Commission also confirmed that an EVM was broken in Bankura’s Shaltora, which is being considered for repolling.
Bankura’s booth 1 also saw clashes between TMC and BJP supporters. A BJP cadre was allegedly pushed and thrown outside the polling booth by TMC workers.
Twenty-six were injured on the polling day of phase six. Three suffered bullet injuries. At least 16 were arrested and the presiding officer of Gahtal booth number 206/207 was suspended and issued a show cause notice.
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Ghatal’s BJP Candidate Bharati Ghosh’s car was allegedly attacked by TMC workers in West Bengal’s Keshpur. Bharati was accused of violating the Model Code of Conduct by sending her security into the polling booth. Later, unidentified men attacked her convoy. One of Bharati’s security and a few media persons were injured.
After Bharati’s car was attacked, a mob gathered near Keshpur’s 207/206 booth. Central forces lobbed tear gas shells and resort to a lathicharge. Security personnel also had to open fire to disperse the mob.
Moreover, in Bankura’s Bishnupur, villagers boycotted the voting. They claimed Central forces were harassing the men and not letting women cast their votes. According to the reports, they allegedly asked voters to vote for BJP. Upon refusing them, the women were not allowed to enter the polling booths.
And the very latest incident which took place was in the capital city, Kolkata, of West Bengal.
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Clashes erupted between student activists of the TMC and BJP during BJP chief Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The BJP chief was seen waving to a sea of supporters amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as the massive roadshow navigated it’s way to it’s destination, the house of Swami Vivekananda at Simla Street. Some students allegedly showed black flags to Shah, irking students aligned to the BJP. According to the reports, sticks and stones were hurled at the vehicle carrying the BJP chief forcing the police to resort to lathicharge. Some people were injured in the clashes.
As a result, the BJP held silent protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over violence at Amit Shah’s road show in Kolkata. The BJP, meanwhile, also demanded the election commission to suspend Mamta Banerjee’s campaign for the last phase of the elections.
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However, polling of nine seats in West Bengal is scheduled to take place in seventh phase of Lok Sabha election on May 19. The result of the ongoing Lok Sabha poll is scheduled to be declared on May 23. It will only be after May 23 when we will discover if people of West Bengal dethrones Mamata Banerjee or still keep the state remain her fortress.
