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Assembly Elections scene |
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West Bengal : Differences over central forces deployment
The Left parties have objected to the posting of only central paramilitary forces at polling stations in West Bengal in the coming Assembly elections. In a petition to the Election Commission, they said it will lead to communication problems. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI’s D. Raja and RSP’s Abani Roy later said, “given that a large number of security forces from outside the state will be exclusively responsible for maintenance of law and order at polling stations, communication may become a major problem given the language barrier.” Asserting that maintenance of law and order was an exclusive state subject, they said deployment of paramilitary forces from outside the state can affect the smooth conduct of the elections.
The Election Commission has decided to deploy 600 companies of central paramilitary forces in the Maoist affected districts of West Bengal going to the polls on April 17.
Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon rejected the fears expressed by the Left leaders saying that the Commission has taken into account the ground realities and availability of paramilitary forces. “We want to provide adequate area combination coverage and deployment of forces, especially in the Naxal-affected areas,” he said.
Since the last election where 300 companies of para-military forces were employed in the whole of West Bengal, the EC’s decision to double the security forces in just three districts is unprecedented. Sixty thousand security personnel will be deployed in 7,479 polling stations in the three districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura.
Disregarding the Left party’s plea, EC sources said that the deployment of para-military forces during the polls will be done as per the schedule and all the concerned chiefs of the Central forces have been asked to follow instructions in this regard.
The Election Commission, in another significant move has justified its action against a West Bengal Minister Subhas Chakraborty for allegedly making intimidatory statements. Chakraborty had invited Election Commission’s wrath when he criticised state election officials branding them as EC’s stooges “although their salaries are paid by the state government.” He is also reported to have said, “Their reign is short-lived. They are behaving like underlings of the Election Commission. What will be their fate after we are voted back to power ?”
Immediately after the Minister’s statements were telecast on TV channels, the Election Commission directed the state chief electoral officer to initiate the process of lodging a criminal case against Chakraborty.
The CPI(M) has also protested to the Election Commission against a raid conducted on CPI(M) offices under instructions of an EC observer in Keshpur constituency. CPI(M) central secretariat member Nilotpal Basu said that the raids bring into doubt the Election Commission’s impartiality. Party’s state secretary Biman Bose has also written to the Election Commission in this connection.
Kerala : CPI(M) to contest 11 more seats
In Kerala, the CPI(M) has raised the number of seats it is contesting to 91 by taking over all the 11 seats that remained to be allocated. The Left Democratic Front state committee allocated the seats to the CPI(M). In earlier elections, the seats had been allocated to smaller members of the LDF.
CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan told newspersons in Thiruvananthapuram that winnability was the criteria adopted to allocate the seats to the CPI(M).
Observers say that both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front are plagued by rebels as the first phase of Assembly elections in the state takes place on April 22. There are several rebels in the fray posing a challenge to important leaders of both formations in the electoral fray. The Congress-led front is also facing an uneasy alliance with veteran leader K. Karunakaran’s Democratic Indira Congress.
In Pondicherry, the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance appears to be falling apart with its partners unable to reach a seat-sharing agreement. The Congress which had fought the last Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu in alliance with the All India Anna DMK had delinked the Tamil Nadu arrangement from Pondicherry and contested the polls in Pondicherry on its own. Observers say that this time around also, the Congress may contest the elections in Pondicherry on its own strength.
There are 30 seats in the Pondicherry Assembly and the Congress wants a minimum of 18 seats. The DMK is demanding 11 seats and both these major parties are unable to accommodate the remaining constituents of the DPA-PMK, CPI(M) and CPI.
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