News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal elections

  • Poll stars and dubious stats: A look at candidates’ criminal records

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Out of 6,318 candidates contesting in assembly elections in four states and a UT, 18 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by poll rights group ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms).

    The National Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 6,318 out of 6,792 candidates who contested in the Union Territory of Puducherry and the four states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal till Phase 3 of assembly polls.

    Out of 6,318 candidates analysed, 1,157 (18 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits and 632 (10 per cent) candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    As many as 1,317 (21 per cent) are crorepatis.

    Of the 6,318 candidates, 567 were analysed from West Bengal (till phase 3) out of which 144 (25 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 121 (21 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves, the report said.

    Of the 3,559 candidates analysed from Tamil Nadu, 466 (13 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 207 (6 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    Of the 928 candidates analysed from Kerala, 355 (38 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 167 (18 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    Of the 941 candidates analysed from Assam, 138 (15 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 109 (12 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    Of the 323 candidates analysed from Puducherry, 54 (17 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 28 (9 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    Among major political parties, 143 of the 191 candidates (75 per cent) from DMK have declared criminal cases against them and 55 (29 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In AIADMK, of the 197 candidates analysed as many as 50 (25 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 21 (11 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In AITC, of the 107 candidates analysed as many as 29 (27 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 23 (21 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In the BJP, of the 319 candidates analysed as many as 163 (51 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 108 (34 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In Congress, of the 239 candidates analysed as many as 132 (55 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 82 (34 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In CPI(M), of the 126 candidates analysed as many as 77 (61 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 39 (31 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    In CPI, of the 35 candidates analysed as many as 14 (40 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves and 3 (9 per cent) declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

    The report further said that there are 191 (31 per cent) out of 621 constituencies having 3 or more candidates with declared criminal cases which it called ‘Red Alert Constituencies’.

    About 74 of these Red Alert Constituencies were in Tamil Nadu, 75 in Kerala, 21 in West Bengal, 13 in Assam and eight in Puducherry.

    The Assam assembly polls will be conducted in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, while polling for the Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections will take place in a single phase on April 6.

    Elections for the West Bengal assembly are being held in eight phases beginning with polling continuing till April 29, while counting of votes for the four states and one union territory will be done on May 2.

    (With PTI Inputs)

    A look at the findings of the study…

  • Bengal, Assam polls: Doom of Opposition in Modi’s crystal ball

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI/KOLKATA: The BJP has started predicting results even when elections are underway. In Assam, two of the three phases have been completed.

    In West Bengal, six more phases remain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing election rallies in these two states on Thursday, said that BJP is going to win.

    Trying to strike a chord with the locals who love football, Modi said in Assam’s Kokrajhar that people of the state have shown the red card to the opposition alliance in the first two phases of elections. 

    “The whole of India knows football is very popular among the youth here. Given the sense I am getting after the two phases, people have shown red card to Congress-AIUDF combine,” Modi said while campaigning for the UPPL candidate.

    The UPPL and AGP are allies of BJP. Congress leads a 10-party alliance also including AIUDF.

    Following the line of his party in recent election rallies, the PM accused Congress of resorting to divisive politics and misleading people.

    “They instigated people made them fight. The NDA united them through the bridge of development. The Congress is responsible for the encroachment of land. NDA freed them,” he said.

    Stating that peace has returned to Assam, he said the NDA government was committed to help those who had abjured the path of violence. He appealed to those still wielding the gun to join the NDA’s mission for peace and progress.

    At a rally in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, Modi lashed out at Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and said her body language showed she had accepted defeat.

    “Everyone has seen what has happened in Nandigram. She (Mamata) is the opinion poll, she is the exit poll. Mamata didi your body language is showing you have accepted defeat in Nandigram,’’ said Modi.

    The PM in his speech said Nandigram reflected Bengal’s mood.

    “What happened in Nandigram is the reflection of what Bengal wants now. Didi first changed her constituency and later realised, it was her wrong decision. Didi always stands as a barrier in the path of development. She destroyed Bengal’s industries. She ran the government for 10 years without any planning. BJP will be focussed on Bengal’s development after wresting power.”

    Reiterating BJP’s claim to whitewash the TMC-led government, Modi said: “The people of Bengal have decided to bring change. The BJP will come to power in the state with more than 200 seats. Six more phases of polling remain in West Bengal after Thursday.”

  • BJP counting on ‘positive votes’, outcome of government schemes to win Assam and Bengal

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Move over positive vibes! ‘Positive vote’ is the new buzzword in BJP. The saffron outfit is confident and saying that the people’s endorsements of the work done by the government at the Centre will translate into votes in the states where Assembly elections are held. 

    BJP boses are hoping that the party’s consolidation over ‘positive votes’ will get them an extended run in Assam and a new term in West Bengal after it helped them deliver a much better performance than senior alliance partner JD(U) in the recent Bihar elections.

    “BJP is no more looking at anti-incumbency votes in Bengal against Trinamool Congress. BJP had already bagged anti-incumbency votes there in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, it’s the positive vote that is coming to the aide of BJP in Bengal and Assam,” said a Union minister, who recently returned from electioneering in the two states.

    For BJP, ‘positive vote’ means people supporting the party candidate in the state elections due to the work done by the Central government, its welfare measures, and the appeal of PM Narendra Modi. 

    However, the BJP’s electioneering in Bengal has focussed more on highlighting the failure of the TMC government,  with thrust on syndicate, organised corruption, lack of development, non-implementation of Central schemes.

    “In Assam, development done by the NDA government along with the achievements of the Centre will help BJP gain a straight second mandate on the basis of positive votes. In Bengal, BJP has worked up the aspirations of the people to expect better things, due to party being in power at the Centre. That aspiration will get the positive vote for BJP,” said another Union minister, who has also been on election campaiging duty in Assam and Bengal. 

    Reflecting on Bengal, the minister claimed that TMC and BJP are pitched in a direct contest, with the Left and Congress failing to find space in people’s attention during the build-up to polling. But he says the party has to better its 2019 performance by several notches.

  • Mamata Banerjee’s body language shows that she has accepted defeat in Nandigram: PM Modi

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Amid Mamata Banerjee’s claims of ‘rigged’ polling at Nandigram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Trinamool Congress supremo stating that her body language indicated that she had accepted defeat in the East Midnapore seat.

    “Everyone has seen what has happened in Nandigram. She (Mamata) is the opinion poll, she is the exit poll. Mamata didi your body language is showing you have accepted your defeat in Nandigram,” said Modi, while addressing a rally in Mathurapur, South 24 Parganas.

    ALSO READ | Battle for Nandigram: Massive face-off between Mamata and Suvendu on polling day

    The Prime Minister in his speech said polling in Nandigram reflected Bengal’s mood. “What happened in Nandigram is the reflection of what Bengal wants now. Didi first changed her constituency and later realised, it was her wrong decision. Didi always stands as a barrier in the path of development. She destroyed Bengal’s industries. She run the government for 10 years without any planning. BJP will be focused on Bengal’s development after wresting power,” he said.

    Reiterating BJP’s claim to whitewash the TMC-led government, Modi said, “The people of Bengal have decided to bring change in Bengal. The BJP will come to power in Bengal with more than 200 seats.”

  • Battle for Nandigram: Massive face-off between Mamata and Suvendu on polling day

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections witnessed a massive face-off between two heavyweight contestants — CM Mamata Banerjee and her former cabinet colleague Suvendu Adhikari — in Nandigram over the issue of the former’s surprise visit to a polling booth.

    She rushed to the booth after receiving complaints that TMC polling agents are not being allowed there,  and spent two hours sitting in a wheelchair. Soon after Mamata left, Suvendu visited the same booth and said Mamata was scared of her defeat in Nandigram.

    When Mamata was arguing with the senior police officers outside the polling booth, BJP supporters assembled there and raised ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans. Another group of TMC supporters, too, gathered nearby and shouted ‘Khela Hobe’ (there will be a game). Mamata called up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar from the booth and complained to him of “false voting” and “failure” of central force to prevent it. She also wrote a complaint letter to the Election Commission.

    ALSO READ | EC seeks report over violence during polling in Bengal’s Nandigram

    Hitting out at the Centre, Mamata, while leaving the booth, said, “The Union Home Minister instructed the BSF and CRPF to help the BJP. I never saw such bad elections. BJP will be whitewashed in Nandigram.”

    Lambasting the Election Commission, the CM said, “The EC is working under the instruction of the Home minister. My humble request to the EC is please don’t act like this in the next phases of the election.”

    Shortly after Mamata claimed that her victory in Nandigram is sure, the TMC announced that she will not contest any other constituency in this election.

    Mamata also accused the Prime Minister of violating election rules. “Narendra Modi is campaigning in the same district today where polling is going on. He holds rallies and campaigns on the same day when the state goes to the polls. Isn’t it the violation of election rules?” she asked.

    The second phase polling in 30 Assembly constituencies in four districts on Thursday witnessed stray violence. In West Midnapore’s Keshpur, BJP candidate Pritish Kunwar’s car was vandalised allegedly by TMC supporters. Windshields of four vehicles of journalists were also smashed in the attack.

    In Nandigram, bricks were hurled at Suvendu’s car. Both the TMC and the BJP complained of driving out their polling agents at several places in Nandigram, Chandipur, and Haldia constituencies.

    The voters in Nandigram, the epicentre of Bengal’s Assembly elections, appeared to be polarised on the issue of religion. In the constituency, minorities share 26% of the total electorates. In minority-dominated pockets, roads were covered with TMC’s flags and in other areas, BJP decorated the trees and light posts with its party flags.

  • Bengal elections: State witnesses close to 38% polling till 11 am, skirmishes reported in Nandigram

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM/KOLKATA: The second phase of polling in West Bengal’s eight-phase elections, including in the high-stakes Nandigram seat, recorded a high voter turnout of 37.4 per cent till 11 am.

    Though the situation was tense in a few areas with a few skirmishes reported, tight security cover in all 30 constituencies which went to polls averted any major incidents.

    “We have 37.42 per cent voter turnout till 11 am in all seats where polling is underway for the second phase. The polling so far has been peaceful,” an Election Commission official said.

    The constituencies where polls are being conducted include nine seats each in Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts, eight in Bankura and four in South 24 Parganas.

    Strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols has been ensured in all places, officials said.

    More than 75 lakh voters will decide the fate of 191 candidates in the 30 constituencies for which voting ends at 6.30 pm.

    The entire Nandigram constituency where chief minister Mamata Benrjee is locked in a high-stakes electoral battle with her former lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari now with the BJP, has been placed under Section 144, to avoid any untoward incident.

    However, protesters blocked the road in Nandigram’s Block 1 alleging Central forces stopped them from going to the polling stations.

    “The CRPF personnel accompanying Suvendu Adhikari stopped us from casting our votes,” a protester said.

    The BJP however denied the allegations.

    In another incident, a person was detected with a fake voter ID and was subsequently arrested.

    Banerjee decided to stay at her `war room’ in the Reyapara area in Nandigram during the polls, to monitor the situation, according to party sources.

    The chief minister is slated to later visit various polling booths.

    Around 35 per cent of electors exercised their franchise till 11 am in the agrarian constituency in Purba Medinipur district, , an Election Commission official said.

    Barring an incident in the Bhimkata area in Nandigram where the BJP candidate faced an agitation by a group of TMC workers who shouted slogans against him, there were no incidents of face-offs or skirmishes in Nandigram, he added.

    However, TMC alleged the BJP had threatened its polling agents in various booths in Nandigram Block 2.

    “Our agents were not allowed to enter several polling booths in Nandigram Block -2. Voters have also been stopped from exercising their franchise in some areas. We will lodge complaints with the EC,” a TMC leader said.

    Adhikari cast his vote soon after polling began on Thursday morning and claimed he would win the seat by a record margin.

    Meanwhile, the Keshpur area in Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district remained tense after a TMC worker identified as Uttam Dolui was stabbed to death late last night, hours before polling started in the area, police said.

    Dolui’s family alleged that BJP “goons” attacked him to create tension in the area and intimidate voters ahead of the polling.

    The BJP however denied both the allegations.

    In Sabang seat in the West Midnapore district, BJP candidate Amulya Maity made a counter allegation that TMC had not allowed his booth agents to enter their designated booths.

    The TMC too denied the allegations.

    Meanwhile, in Debra seat, police detained BJP’s Mandal president Mohan Singh- for allegedly getting within 100m of a polling booth.

    In the Mahisadal seat, the TMC also alleged that BJP workers had stopped voters from going to the polling stations.

    Meanwhile, a BJP worker, identified as Uday Dubey, was found hanging near the Reyapara area in Nandigram Block-1.

    The BJP alleged that Dubey had ended his life after being threatened by TMC workers.

    Villagers in the Boyal area in Nandigram also alleged that BJP supporters had stopped them from going to the polling booths.

  • Bengal polls: Tension in Nandigram after BJP worker found hanging at home

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: A BJP worker was found hanging at his home in Nandigram in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district on Thursday, triggering tension in the area amid the high-profile election here, police said.

    Uday Dubey was found hanging at his home in the Bhekutia area of Nandigram in the morning, they said.

    Dubey was under tremendous stress as he was receiving threats from the TMC after he attended a roadshow of superstar Mithun Chakraborty who campaigned in the area in support of BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari on March 30, BJP leaders alleged.

    He could also have been hanged to death by TMC “goons”, they alleged.

    However, TMC denied the charges and hit out at the BJP for indulging in politics over a death.

    “Dubey killed himself due to a family problem,” a senior TMC leader claimed.

    Police said a case of unnatural death has been lodged, and the exact cause could be ascertained after receiving the post-mortem report.

    An investigation into the incident is underway and central forces have been deputed in the area to control the situation, they said.

    Nandigram is under heavy security cover with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being clamped in view of the high-voltage contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her former aide, Adhikari.

  • Battleground Nandigram: Mamata to stay for whole day, TMC complains agents not allowed in several booths

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee decided to stay at her war room in the Reyapara area during the polls on Thursday in the Nandigram assembly constituency where she is locked in a fierce prestige battle with confidante-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP.

    She is monitoring the situation in the high-profile constituency where polling began at 7 am as local TMC leaders complained of their election agents not being allowed to enter several booths, according to the party sources.

    There have been no reports of violence or clashes among political activists in the constituency, barring an incident in the Bhimkata area in Nandigram where the BJP candidate faced an agitation by a group of TMC workers who shouted slogans against him, an Election Commission official said.

    Around 17 per cent of electors exercised their franchise in the first two hours of the polling in the agrarian constituency in Purba Medinipur district, he said.

    According to the TMC sources, Banerjee, who had earlier decided to leave the area for campaigning in North Bengal after the polling ended at 6:30 PM on Thursday, changed her plans this morning.

    “She has decided to stay back and leave tomorrow. Banerjee will monitor the situation in the area, and if needed, she will go to spots,” a senior TMC leader accompanying her said.

    Banerjee, who has camped in Nandigram since March 27, had on Wednesday alleged that goons from other states have come to Nandigram to foment trouble and intimidate the voters.

    Meanwhile, the TMC alleged that its polling agents have been threatened by the BJP in various booths in Nandigram Block 2.

    “Our agents were not allowed to enter several polling booths in Nandigram Block -2. Voters have also been stopped from exercising their franchise in some areas. We will lodge complaints with the EC,” a TMC leader said.

    The BJP, however, denied these allegations.

    Adhikari cast his vote soon after polling began on Thursday morning and exuded confidence of winning the seat by a record margin.

    “I am confident about my victory and not here to make any personal attack like my opponent. You have seen how people were coming out in the area as I went there to cast my vote,” he added.

    Meanwhile, a BJP worker, identified as Uday Dubey, was found hanging near the Reyapara area in Nandigram Block-1.

    The BJP claimed that Dubey had suspectedly ended his life, as he was being constantly threatened by the TMC goons.

    The ruling party in West Bengal termed the allegation as “baseless”.

    A team of police personnel has been deployed there to avoid any untoward incident.

  • Writer, painter, indomitable fighter Mamata Banerjee faces her biggest political challenge at Nandigram

    By ANI
    NANDIGRAM: Mamata Banerjee, the indomitable fighter clad in a white sari, is a writer, poet and painter who had ended the decades-long rule of the Left Front but after two successive terms faces a major challenge to her political career.

    Striving to prove that “Bangla nijer meyekei chaye” (Bengal wants its own daughter), she continues her stride in the political spectrum of the nation that began in 1975 making the headlines by dancing on the car of the most influential leaders of that time Jayaprakash Narayan as a mark of protest.

    Forty-six years have passed since then; her fighting spirits continue to shine in Indian politics. She is ‘Nation’s Didi’ Mamata Banerjee.

    She became the chief minister of West Bengal in 2011 by ending the 34-year-long CPI(M) regime, one of the longest-serving elected governments in the world. Now after ruling the state for two successive terms, the 2021 poll battle is surely not a cakewalk for her. It is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that trespassed her dominion after gaining overwhelming results from the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. And, the emergence of the Left-Congress-ISF alliance has made the situation more complicated for her.

    Banerjee endorses her governance as the rule of three ‘M’s, that is, ‘Maa’, ‘Mati’ and ‘Manush’ (mother, soil and people). But, the Bengal elections have another 3M factor this time, that is, ‘Mamata’, ‘Modi’ and ‘Muslim’. So, Banerjee’s challenge is to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity in Bengal at one side and regain her support base of the minority community that might step out with the Left-Congress-ISF alliance.

    Now making the battle of power more interesting, Mamata has chosen Nandigram over her home turf Bhabanipur seat this time to test her fate in the 2021 elections. It was the agitation in Nandigram and Singur against the Left government’s land acquisition policies that made Mamata Banerjee the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

    Now not just Bengal, but the country’s eye is on Nandigram that will witness the most high-profile contest on April 1 with the chief minister taking on her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined the BJP in December last year.

    Further, Banerjee’s poll campaign this time got a new dimension with a wheelchair after she suffered an injury earlier this month while campaigning in Nandigram.

    Not to mention, the West Bengal Chief Minister spared no poll stage to launch scathing attacks on Prime Minister Modi. However, the Modi-Mamata battle was quite visible even before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She played an instrumental role in bringing together all opposition parties against the Centre prior to the 2019 general elections. The seventh-term MP also has been among the first key figures who heavily criticised the central government in issues starting from demonetisation to Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and lockdown to fuel prices. Her fighting spirit and mass appeal have made her one the tallest opposition figures in the current political arena.

    Mamata Banerjee started her political career as a Youth Congress worker in the 1970s. She quickly rose the ranks and became the general secretary of Mahila Congress and later All India Youth Congress. In 1984 she was elected as a member of parliament in the 8th Lok Sabha becoming one of India’s youngest parliamentarians. She founded the All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 after a disagreement with Congress.

    Mamata Banerjee worked with three Prime Ministers including PV Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. She had been a Union Minister in both National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments and held portfolios like Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development, Coal and Mines and the Railways. Notably, she was the first woman to become a railway minister in the country. The Time Magazine named her among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.

    Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, Mamata Banerjee worked as a milk booth vendor to battle poverty. Her father passed away due to the lack of treatment when she was just 17. The fighter in her never let the barriers dominate her. She continued her education and earned a Bachelor’s degree in History, a Master’s degree in Islamic History and degrees in Education and Law from the University of Calcutta. She also worked as a stenographer and a private tutor before joining full-time politics.Another disposition of Mamata Banerjee is her minimalist lifestyle. Despite being the Chief Minister, she still lives in her ancestral terracotta-tiled roof house at Kolkata’s Harish Chatterjee Street. White cotton sarees having mono-colour borders and slippers are all that define the fashion statement of Mamata Banerjee.

    The West Bengal Chief Minister is also a self-taught painter, poet and writer. She has authored more than 100 books. She is also tech-savvy and remains active on social media. The Trinamool Supremo is also known for her walkathons or marches. Here it needs to be mentioned that she walks five-six kilometres on a treadmill every day. When it comes to evening snack time, she likes to have tea, puffed rice and ‘aloo chop’.

    The second phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls is scheduled for April 1. In phase-II, 30 seats covering a segment of South 24 Parganas, Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur will go to polls to decide the fate of 171 candidates including 19 women.

    Meanwhile, the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections concluded with an estimated 79.79 per cent voter turnout on Saturday.

    In the first phase, 30 seats covering all Assembly constituencies from the districts of Purulia and Jhargram and a segment of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur went to polls.

  • ‘Trinamool’s Anubrata Mondal threatened me’: Visva-Bharati VC writes to PM for security

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Visva-Bharati university Vice- Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take steps for ensuring his safety, alleging that Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal has threatened him.

    Attaching clippings of local newspapers, Chakraborty alleged that Mondal threatened to teach him a lesson that he shall never forget in life.

    “This is to bring to your kind notice that the TMC district President Anubrata Mondal threatened me with dire consequences after the poll,” Chakraborty said in the letter dated March 24.

    “Under these circumstances, this is an earnest request to you to adopt steps to avoid untoward incidents in the campus and to ensure my physical well-being along with family members,” he added.

    The prime minister is the chancellor of the varsity.

    Mondal, the TMC’s Birbhum strongman, said at a public meeting on March 23 that “a mad person” has occupied the chair of the VC of Visva-Bharti who keeps all the gates of the varsity shut during the day time, despite an order of the Calcutta High Court.

    “We will teach you a lesson after the elections by democratic means, a lesson you will not forget,” Mondal had said, in an apparent reference to Chakraborty.

    Mondal could not be reached for his response to the vice-chancellor’s letter.

    However, a senior TMC leader said that he had just voiced the swelling anger of the locals against Chakraborty.

    “The VC has been on a confrontational path with the faculty, majority of the students, ashramites and local businessmen for a considerable period. Mondal just voiced their anger and did not threaten anyone,” he claimed.