By Nilotpal Basu
Peoples Democracy, 5th
June, 2016
THE playing out of gruesome
violence in post-poll West Bengal will put many a horrific nightmare to shame.
What makes this violence almost inexplicable to the uninitiated in the
`hell-hole’ of the present political landscape of the state is the `massive
mandate’, which columnists and contributors are so eloquent in articulating. No
wonder! We have been tutored since our childhood to believe that `victors’ have
to be forgiving; there is no room for vengeance in triumph.
But, obviously, not so in present
West Bengal. In fact, what is playing out is quite the contrary. The TMC chief
and the re-elected chief minister had held out the threat in the run-up to the
election in repeated public meetings that once re-elected, the new
administration would see to it `inch by inch’ that the efforts of the people
and the opposition to defeat the TMC is ‘taken care of’. The campaign had
highlighted quite blatant threats to the Election Commission and sections of
the administration who were active under the `model code of conduct’ for
ensuring a free and fair polls to the assembly. It may otherwise escape the
attention of the ‘columnists’ but only 32 lakhs separate the popular support of
the TMC front from that of the opposition; but the TMC is most acutely aware of
this reality. So, even though it may appear to be otherwise inexplicable, the
violence can only be decoded by the special, if not obnoxious, nature of the
regime that lords over West Bengal. It is an out and out authoritarian regime
that runs the state. It was the same before the elections; now even more so.
THE EMERGING PATTERN OF
VIOLENCE
That the rule of law is at best a
notional idea in the state is clear. Despite the efforts of holding free and
fair poll, the fact remains that four CPI(M) activists were killed in the
run-up to the elections. And, each of these killings were directly linked to
undermine the opposition and, in particular, the CPI(M) and the Left. The violence
was linked to targeting of polling agents and potential polling agents and
specifically aimed at scaring away voters. In most of these cases, the killers
who have been named in the police complaints have not been arrested.
Despite the atmosphere of terror
and intimidation, popular urge for exercising the franchise was visible. That
the `MCC’ regime of the couple of months since the announcement of the election
dates could not completely neutralise the affects of terror is also equally
true. Therefore, the present spate of violence is particularly targeting the
`resistance’ and its nucleus – CPI(M) and the Left. The clear design is to
dismantle and decimate the Party and the Left, as well as, all other opposition
forces.
In these pages, details of the
violence have been chronicled in the last few issues. For sure, given the
current trend, it will continue to be reported for quite some time in the
future. But what has to be noted is not just the physical description of the
violence; but the pattern which reveals this sinister design.
Notwithstanding the spread of the
violence across the length and breadth of the 20 districts of the state, what
is particularly noteworthy is the fact that violence and terror has been more
intense and focused in areas where the opposition has managed to register an
electoral victory over the TMC, be it an assembly segment, or a municipal ward
or panchayat or even a single polling booth. The basic idea is to stifle the
spirit of resistance and rupture the links with the people which have resulted
in the electoral reverse of the ruling party in these places.
SOME ISSUES WHICH NEEDS TO
BE UNDERLINED
That areas which need to be
specially noted to understand this cynical plot takes us to the Jadavpur
assembly constituency. In 2011 assembly elections, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was
defeated by over 30,000 votes. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(M)
candidate trailed substantially. In most of the municipal wards, massive
rigging led to the defeat of the Left candidates in the Kolkata municipal
elections. However, this time around, Sujan Chakraborty, CPI(M) state
secretariat member, won by nearly 15,000 votes. Not only that, he scored a lead
in each of the ten municipal wards. This was made possible by both popular
resistance as well as the measures initiated by the EC. Chakraborty defeated
the incumbent power minister and former home secretary who was the TMC nominee.
The chief minister herself had cast doubts about the results and expressed the
need for `going into the matter’. Naturally, that is now playing out in the
most medieval violence that has been let loose on not only the Party and the
Left but even common voters. Attacks on houses and capture of Party offices is
now the every day reality.
Another such area is Haldia, the
industrial hub which adjoins Nandigram. In this area, the Party and the Left
not only faced the violence by the TMC but also attempted disruption by the
newly-formed party of Lakshman Seth, former MP and former Party state committee
member who had been expelled for his anti-people and anti-Party activities. But
braving all these, a woman, Tapasi Mondal of the CPI(M) was elected by over
10,000 votes. Therefore, this area has also come as a special target where
indiscriminate violence including that on the house of the newly elected MLA is
for all there to see. One could go on with countless similar instances.
Countless offices of the CPI(M),
different mass and class organisations across the state have been forcibly
occupied, gutted, demolished. Party leaders, mass organisation leaders, elected
members at the local level, candidates and, of course, voters, none are being
spared. Areas in which the TMC had to suffer reverse, voters are asked to pay
an exorbitant amount as fines for carrying on their life and livelihood in
their home and hearth.
The most cynical aspect of this
violence is the complete inaction of the police administration in dealing with
offences which stem from political vendetta. The reasons are not hard to find.
Officers of the civil and the police administration who had been transferred
out by the Election Commission during the pendency of MCC have been reverted
back to their earlier positions immediately on the assumption of office,
notwithstanding the public approval of officers who had covered themselves with
positive impact on the fairness of the election process. Similarly, number of
ministers who had lost the elections had been appointed in high level positions
in their respective erstwhile departments. This is to send out a clear message
that these defeats are of no consequence, so far as the ruling party is
concerned!
THE THREAT OF COMMUNAL
POLARISATION
The intense orchestrated violence
is accompanied with another major threat of communal polarisation. The repeated
visits of prime minister Modi in West Bengal in the run up to the assembly
elections and his `intended’ attacks on the TMC was to create an atmosphere of
polarisation and to cut down the possible electoral loss for the TMC. The North
Bengal districts which were considered a strong ground for the Left and secular
opposition saw a more pronounced presence of the BJP. Two of its three seats
where they have won falls in this region. The votes polled by BJP in North
Bengal is 16 percent as compared to 8 percent in the south Bengal districts.
Overall, the BJP’s vote share has come down from 17 percent in 2014 Lok Sabha
elections to 10 percent in the 2016 assembly elections. It is also clear that
the victories were registered due to unusual decrease of the TMC votes in these
seats.
Naturally, this selective presence
of the BJP and the accompanying communal campaign is complemented by the TMC’s
pandering to minority communal forces. The latest evidence of this is in the
form of inclusion of Siddiqullah Chaudhury who was till the other day
associated with Jamaat-e-Ulema and had openly supported the activities of
fundamentalist groups in Bangladesh.
Therefore, it is the continuous
quid-pro-quo between the ruling party in the centre and that in the state will
loom large.
The authoritarian build-up during
the last five years will be further accentuated is a fact which is becoming
increasingly clear.
RESISTANCE AND UNITY
While it is clear that the violence
that we are witnessing is far more intense and widespread than in the `hoodlum
days’ of the seventies and the semi-fascist regime of Siddharth Shankar Ray,
the growing unity of the people is also something which one cannot miss.
Braving the violence in the very initial days of these post-poll violence are
signs of resistance in certain areas. Villagers, poor people who have got
together, chased away miscreants and attackers. There has been widespread
revulsion against an incident where a pregnant woman had to suffer a
miscarriage of her unborn foetus when she was pushed and kicked while
attempting to save her husband and his companions from the attacks launched by
the TMC goons. There is major protest particularly in the social media over the
lynching of a girl student in Ashutosh College in South Kolkata when she went
to collect her admit card for the examination simply because she happens to be
an SFI activist.
Therefore, unity and resistance, is
the way forward. Authoritarianism cannot be permanent. Issues of policy of both
the central and state governments will definitely adversely affect the life and
livelihood of the people. Struggle for restoration of democracy and against
these anti-people policies will go hand-in-hand to restore civil rights. It is
with this in mind that the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, in its recently-held meeting,
has given a clarion call: “Under these circumstances, the CPI(M) calls upon the
people of West Bengal to unitedly resist this murder of democracy and civil
liberties in the state. The strength of the people’s unity is the answer to
meet this unprecedented unleashing of violence.”
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