DNA Edit: Everyone is guilty – The political situation in Bengal is indeed precarious

A little too late in the day, India has woken up to the fears of a constitutional breakdown in West Bengal. And the first to sound the bugle is the Election Commission (EC), which in an unprecedented step, has cut short the electioneering in the state for nine Lok Sabha constituencies by a day. In doing so, the EC has invoked Article 324 of the Constitution, citing ‘an atmosphere of fear and hatred’ and ‘widely prevalent fear psychosis’ in polling areas to explain its decision. It has also ordered the removal of the state’s Additional Director General of Police (CID) Rajeev Kumar, who is close to the chief minister and has been on the Centre and CBI’s radar for some time now. That the scenario in Bengal has gone from bad to worse would be to state the obvious. 

However, the immediate trigger for the EC action is the attack on BJP president Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata earlier this week. Previous incidents of mob violence, the illegal detention of an activist of BJP’s youth wing and the general atmosphere of intimidation of rivals, have all contributed to the EC’s decision. This environment of political violence unfolding in Bengal is a legacy of the Left Front, which is now being continued by their successor. A few months ago, during the panchayat elections, Mamata’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) had created a similar environment of intimidation. It reached a stage when the high court had to intervene to allow opposition candidates to file their nomination via email and WhatsApp, as they could not make it to the nomination centres. 

Opposition members, who eventually won, were unable to return home fearing violence. Many political workers lost their lives during these polls. While there is little doubt about the shenanigans of the state government, the role of the EC, too, is going to come under a scanner should there be a change of government at the Centre. In the course of this election campaign, the EC’s Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has been thrown out the window by all political parties, raising doubts about the efficacy of the code itself. In fact, none of the eight provisions dealing with the conduct of poll are being observed. The first of the eight is on ‘general conduct’ of polls. This includes a ban on ‘caste and communal feelings’, ‘criticism of candidates on the basis of unverified reports’, and ‘bribing of voters’. 

Another crucial MCC guideline about not referring to defence and military personnel in a campaign has been given the go-by. Importantly, in 1979, the MCC prohibited government advertisements about their ‘achievements’ alongside banning announcement of grants and schemes, so that the ruling party does not get an unfair advantage. The government or the ruling party “should not launch any welfare programmes, including ribbon-cutting ceremonies”, dictates the code. However, what is happening is exactly the opposite and the Supreme Court had to remind the ECI that it is not actually toothless.