Rural West Bengal is all set for the three-tier panchayat elections on Saturday, amidst widespread violence and killings. This high-stakes contest serves as a crucial litmus test for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and holds the potential to reshape the political landscape of the state.
Approximately 5.67 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise to elect representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities and 63,229 gram panchayat seats.
The voting will be held on 8 July. Counting of votes will be held on July 11.
The elections to choose representatives for village councils will be conducted with heightened security, as central forces will oversee the process for the second time since the establishment of the Panchayati Raj system in Bengal in the late 1970s.
BJP Vs TMC
Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari were part of the high-voltage campaigning including public meetings, roadshows and door-to-door visits across the state that went on for over the last few weeks and ended on Thursday evening.
The electoral battle is anticipated to heat up between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), although the Left Front and the Congress are also striving to regain ground in the rural polls.
The Trinamool Congress has highlighted the Centre’s refusal to provide funds to the state as a significant concern, particularly regarding flagship rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA. The ruling party has laid emphasis on the importance of refraining from strong-arm tactics by party cadres and have advocating for a more democratic space for political opponents. Their aim was to prevent a repeat of the 2018 rural polls, during which the party had secured approximately 34 percent of the seats uncontested.
On the other hand, the Opposition has focused its campaigns on addressing corruption in rural bodies.
The campaign of the saffron party was led by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari, while the state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim led their respective parties’ poll drives.
The Indian Secular Front (ISF), which has a limited presence in parts of North and South 24 Parganas, also garnered attention with its leader and lone MLA Nawsad Siddique spearheading the party’s campaign, often resulting in clashes with the ruling TMC in Bhangor, South 24 Parganas.
Previous West Bengal Panchayat Elections
During the 2013 panchayat polls, despite the extensive presence of central forces, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) emerged victorious in more than 85 percent of the seats. In the subsequent 2018 rural polls, the TMC secured a staggering 90 percent of the panchayat seats and obtained control over all 22 zilla parishads. However, these elections were marred by widespread violence and malpractices, with the opposition claiming that they were hindered from filing nominations in numerous constituencies.
West Bengal Panchayat Election Impact on 2024 Lok Sabha Polls
The rural polls, encompassing approximately 65 percent of the state’s population, offer political parties a crucial chance to evaluate their booth-level organisation before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as a significant number of the state’s 42 parliamentary seats are located in rural areas.
Pre-poll Violence
Dozens of people have been killed and many injured in violence in the run-up to the polls. According to officials, approximately 65,000 active central police personnel and 70,000 state police personnel will be deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls.
Notable areas of concern include Bhangar, Murshidabad, Coochbihar, Basanti, Nandigram and Birbhum, where incidents of violence have been reported.
Governor C V Ananda Bose has himself visited several violence-hit areas of Bhangar, Canning in South 24 Parganas district, Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and Basanti in North 24 Parganas.
The governor described Saturday’s panchayat polls as a “fight between ballots and bullets” and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.
“(Tomorrow) I will be on the road. I will be with my team. For the last few days, the Raj Bhavan was a Mobile Raj Bhavan tomorrow before the voting begins, I will be on the roads. After the voting ends, I will go back. In between, I will also visit the Peace Room to see what is happening throughout the state and to take corrective measures to the extent I am entitled to do so,” Bose said.
A petition filed by BJP legislator and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, seeking measures to curb violence during the polls, is also being considered by the high court. The matter is listed for hearing on July 10.
On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court issued a directive stating that Central forces will remain deployed across West Bengal for a period of 10 days after the declaration of the panchayat poll results on July 11.
(With inputs from PTI)
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