West Bengal Elections 2016: History repeats itself, violence comes back in part 2 of first phase polls

History repeating itself, violence came back to parts of West Bengal on Monday, as 31 constituencies across West Midnapore, Bankura and Burdwan districts went to polls on the second day of the first phase of state assembly elections. 

The sporadic incidents were a deviation from the peaceful polling reported on the phase IA  of state polls in 18 constituencies on April 4. The state, however, saw a high voter percentage with West Midnapore recording a good 84.81 voter percentage. Bankura and Burdwan recorded a voter percentage of 78.71 and 74.67, respectively, as per the EC.

Polling began at 7am in the 31 constituencies, 13 of which are in West Midnapore and nine each in Bankura and Burdwan districts. However, within hours after the poll started, a polling agent of the CPI(M) was attacked and subsequently hospitalized at Jamuria in Burdwan district. 

While there were reports of clashes between the BJP and Trinamool Congress workers at Nandi, a village in Jamuria, CPI(M) workers clashed with TMC workers at its Sattar village where a couple of houses of left party supporters were reportedly set on fire.

Dulal Mondal, an eyewitness from Nandi told dna, "When we went to cast our vote at the Nandi polling booth, we saw a huge crowd. I saw a party worker bleeding from the head. He was being carried away from the booth to a local hospital." Crude bombs were also recovered from near a polling station in the same assembly station. Locals reported of hearing loud thudding sound in the morning near the Jamuria polling stations. Few bomb blasts reported in the area.

Masked men armed with bamboos and sticks were seen roaming around in certain parts of the constituencies. 

There were allegations of violence in the Pandaveshwar, Keshpur, and Sonamukhi Constituencies. A Parimal Barui in the Pandaveshwar of Burdwan district died of a suspected sun stroke.

In the Malligram village of Sabong, clashes were reported between the CPI(M) and TMC workers. The Sabong assembly seat is a Congress bastion, Bengal Congress president Manas Bhunia is the current legislator there.

Fights were also reported between the TMC and CPI(M) at the Keshpur constituency of West Midnapore, with 150 polling booths reportedly captured by TMC workers. Three injuries were reported in this area. Violence, however, is a regular affair at the Keshpur seat since the last many state elections.

CPM state party secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra, who was contesting from the Narayangarh seat, was allegedly heckled at five polling booths.

Winning the Narayangarh and the Sabong seats had become a matter of ego for the TMC as both are CPM and Congress strongholds respectively. With the TMC desperately trying to make a dent in these constituencies, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had come down heavily at the Congress and left alliance in a recent rally at Narayangarh.

Poll violence is not new to West Bengal. Instances of booth capturing, false voting and other forms of rigging have been traditionally a part of the state politics. After the TMC came to power in 2011, the perpetrators of violence merely exchanged hands. About 1,878 complaints lodged with the EC, most of them against the TMC by opposition parties.

Nearly 70 lakh voters, including 33,68,311 women, were eligible to choose their representatives from 163 candidates contesting on Monday. Twenty-one of the contestants were women. Voting was being held across 8,465 polling stations, including two auxiliary stations.

Questions were raised by political leaders on the ineffectiveness of central forces deputed in the polling booths were violence were reported.

State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that because of the secret alliance between Banerjee and PM Narendra Modi, the central forces in these constituencies were deliberately rendered ineffective.