Fear of violence looms over last phase in Bengal today

KOLKATA: Complaints of threats, attacks and intimidation poured in a day before the fifth and final phase of polling in 17 Bengal seats on Monday, casting a shadow on the conduct of peaceful polls.

With the opposition sniffing a certain nervousness in Trinamool Congress, and the ruling party determined not to yield an inch in its stronghold, this phase poses the toughest challenge for the Election Commission. Unfortunately, the poll panel's role is under the scanner and special observer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh's nonchalant poll-eve comment —"If two private persons clash, that should not be considered as a lapse of security on the part of the commission," — only succeeded in vitiating the atmosphere further on Sunday.

Congress state president and Behrampore candidate Adhir Chowdhury was gheraoed by Trinamool supporters for three hours in Shaktipur while his rival Trinamool's Indranil Sen was roughed up at Bharatpur. Closer home, complaints of intimidation poured in from Beliaghata and Belghoria leading opposition leader Surjya Kanta Mishra to accuse the EC of failing "to control the reign of terror unleashed by the ruling party in North 24-Parganas and Kolkata North". In reply, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, "Some people have lost the elections even before polling. They are spreading propaganda."

The reason for the pre-poll violence is not far to see. Five years ago, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's poll graph was on the upswing. Her party candidates routed Left candidates in their bastion — North and South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore — wresting 15 of 17 constituencies and setting the stage for the fall of the Left citadel two years later.

Today, Trinamool has most assembly segments, municipalities and panchayats in these 17 seats under its belt. The struggle is to retain the stronghold.

In 2009, a bullish Trinamool riding the Singur-Nandigram tide had many takers — from civil society members to the next-door neighbour to the frustrated youth. Today, Mamata has the glitterati around her but the youth is itching to hitch a ride on the saffron bandwagon.

The groundswell of support for BJP, in fact, has added a new dimension to political equations in Bengal which is seeing four-cornered contests in all seats. Sensing the mood, Narendra Modi held eight rallies in Bengal, spending more time here than at Varanasi, his own constituency. Initially, the Left hoped to pick up more seats as a result of vote division. Now, it is not so sure. And Congress, which had contested the 2009 LS polls and 2011 Assembly polls in alliance with Trinamool, is eyeing the minority vote bank.

It is also to be seen to what extent the Saradha issue affects Trinamool's prospects. A large chunk of Saradha's estimated 1.8-million victims will also cast their vote on Monday.