Bengal BJP workers are unsure whether the state police will provide them with security or not.
TAThe Bharatiya Janata Party plans to increase manpower ahead of the panchayat elections in West Bengal by forming an anti-rigging committee. However, Bengal BJP workers are unsure whether the state police will provide them with security or not. “The anti-rigging committee will focus on increasing manpower in the booths. In the previous elections, there have been a lot of instances of booth capturing by TMC, and the police didn’t take any action against anyone. Several houses of BJP workers were looted and killed,” BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told The Sunday Guardian.
Another MLA, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The state police is more likely to support the TMC workers. It would be better if the central forces came into action. Our party is thinking about it.”
When this correspondent contacted West Bengal Police to seek information on security facilities for voters and party workers, an official said, “Whether or not the violence has happened, the police have served and will always serve the people.”
So far, the West Bengal State Election Commission has not prepared any plan to avoid violence, in case it happens. A member of the state election commission told this paper, “State Police are responsible for the security of the people and the workers. I hope the violence doesn’t repeat. The commission hasn’t taken any decisions so far. We may take some steps, but nothing has been decided, so far, by the officers.”
An official date for the panchayat polls has not been decided yet. According to Election Commission sources, the preliminary list of the 20 districts will be released on Wednesday, and any political party with an objection may file a complaint with the District Magistrate and the Election Commission by 2 November. The final list will then be made public at the end of November. Polling with the state police is already being planned. In January, the official announcement on the panchayat elections will be released. The process of reserving the positions of the head, deputy head, president, and president will begin in December. Also, the Howrah municipal election is likely to be held next year.
In the 2018 panchayat polls, the TMC won almost 90% of seats in all 20 zila parishads. However, several cases of violence against BJP workers, and malpractice by TMC were reported across the states. Several BJP workers stated that their houses were looted and many were threatened.