West Bengal Elections 2016: TMC scores brownie points in Jhargram, delivers on many promises say locals

The otherwise quiet village in the Jhargram constituency of west Midnapore is buzzing with activities on Saturday.

As local political leaders wrap up the last leg of their rallies in the scorching afternoon heat of the dusty village, teams of CRPF jawans and election commission staff tasked with overseeing the polling process take rounds in and around the village.

As part of the first phase of the West Bengal elections, the forested Jhargram—once the centre of a violent Maoist movement—goes to polls on Monday along with 17 other constituencies.

Located amid rough, scattered Sal forests, and kilometers of rice fields, the tribal-dominant constituency is part of Jungle Mahal—a term coined by the erstwhile British collectively for parts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore— one of the impoverished belts of West Bengal.

A majority of the locals admitted that Jhargram, as well as the four other constituencies of West Midnapore is set for a  comeback of the Trinamool Congress government, and the key factor here is none other than chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

"The local TMC candidate (Sukumar Hansda) is not a likable figure here, but still people will vote for the ruling party," a poll observer said.

Locals admit that the village has indeed progressed in the last five years since the ruling party, came to power.

Saikat Jana, a local, said people are getting rice at the subsidized rate of Rs2 per kg and it is a huge thing for people who were starving there till a few years ago. Subsidised rice was introduced by the Centre and the Left Front government in Bengal in 2009 as an incentive for people of West Bengal, but Lalgarh locals say they have started getting it at ease only after Didi came to power in 2011.

"We don't know whose scheme it is. It's just that we have started getting the benefits of the scheme after TMC came to power," said Jana. "We also got the Lalgarh bridge that has reduced our commuting distance between Lalgarh and Jhargram town to 21 kilometers"

Asked about Sukumar Hansda, Jana said it doesn't matter, who is contesting from the seat. "People here will vote for Didi," he said, adding that Banerjee had come to the locality at least 20 times in the last five years, the highest for any chief minister.

In a recent rally in North Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Banerjee had urged people to elect TMC in all the 294 seats of West Bengal, and consider that they are voting for her. "I am the candidate in all 294 seats and I request you to vote for me in the upcoming Assembly poll," Banerjee had said.

It seems that people of Jhargram had, by and large, absorbed her words.

The opposition, on the other hand, has also made the political climate in Jhargram, favorable to the TMC. For instance, the Congress and the CPI(M) have tacitly come together this assembly election as an alliance. However, despite their mutual stand against TMC, the parties are at war over this crucial seat of the Santhal-dominant constituency.

The Congress has fielded old party member Subrata Bhattacharya, the left party is supporting Chunibala Hansda, leader of Jharkhand Party (Naren), a local party, that came to power as a faction of the Jharkhand Party, demanding statehood for Jharkhand.

"This has puzzled voters, who are not able to understand who to vote for. These votes will naturally get transferred to TMC," a political observer said.

However, TMC has also not delivered on certain fronts, one of which is a reason for the famed 'peace' in the area that Banerjee had repeatedly referred to her speeches across Jangal Mahal.

When Banerjee had come to power, she had promised that false cases slapped against members of People's Committee Against Police Atrocities—a group working alongside the organised Maoists' group in that area, active between 2008 and 2011—will be withdrawn.

In the Binpur (I) block, one of the blocks of the Jhargram constituency with a population of 1.15 lakh people, at least 275 people have multiple cases against them filed by the state  for participating in anti-state activities.

While there is a discontent brewing among a section of such locals slapped with such cases, they have maintained silence over the issue in fear of retaliation from the Mamata Banerjee government, lending 'peace' to Lalgarh. Some have also joined the TMC sensing protection there.

Calling it an arm-twisting technique, political analysts say Banerjee had deliberately not withdrawn the cases against such locals, to keep them in control. "Fearing reprisal, they have maintained silence, even though they are not exactly happy. This suits the ruling party," a local said, under the condition that his identity will not be revealed.

However, Manoj Mahato, who has about 30 cases against him, said he is hopeful that he will soon be free from the cases. "I was considered a Maoist for raising our voice against police atrocities. But, we are hopeful that the cases against me will be withdrawn soon. There is a process to be followed for everything and I will wait for that," said Mahato.