News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal elections

  • Mamata reluctant to grant citizenship to Matuas, Namsudras; Rahul a ‘tourist politician’: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    TEHATTA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of denying citizenship to Dalit Matua and Namsudra communities as her “vote bank would not like it”.

    Reaching out to the two numerically strong communities which can infuence the outcome of assembly elections in many seats, Shah said a Rs 100 crore fund will be created for their welfare if the BJP is voted to power in the state.

    He also mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “tourist politician”.

    “These Matua and Namsudra families are living here for 50-70 years, for three generations. But Didi says they will not get citizenship, why? Because her vote back would not like it,” he told an election rally in Tehatta in Nadia district.

    Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi who addressed his first two election rallies on Wednesday after keeping off the campaign in the state where his party is contesting in alliance with the Left while fighting against it in Kerala, Shah branded him a “tourist politician”.

    “A tourist politician arrived in Bengal after almost the entire poll got over and questioned our DNA. BJP’s DNA is development, nationalism and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

    Flaying “dynasty politics” in the TMC, Shah said while the BJP wants to implement the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme for farmers in Bengal, “Didi only wants Bhaipo (nephew) Samman Nidhi”.

    Top BJP leaders have been accusing Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee of wielding “unwarranted influence” over the government machinery and running “extortion syndicates”.

    “After people’s mandate on May 2 (counting day), nobody will be left to take cut money, the government of syndicates will be no more there, the government that works for Bhaipo will be gone,” he asserted.

    The home minister assailed the TMC government for “failing to check infiltrators who take away the jobs of our youths and food of our poor”.

    “Let alone illegal immigrants, not even a bird from across the border will be allowed to enter Bengal.

    Not the TMC, neither the Left, nor the Congress, only BJP can stop infiltration,” he asserted.

    He claimed the demography of Nadia district, which shares border with Bangladesh, had got altered because of infiltration.

  • Bengal polls: 45 constituencies to go to polls in fifth phase on April 17, fate of 342 candidates to be sealed

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Over one crore voters in West Bengal will decide the political fate of 342 candidates on Saturday, when 45 assembly constituencies go to polls in the fifth phase, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19.

    Security measures have been heightened for phase five in view of the violence in the previous phase, which witnessed the death of five people in Cooch Behar, including four in CISF firing.

    The Election Commission has decided to deploy at least 853 companies of central forces to ensure free and fair voting, an official of the poll panel said.

    It will also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence of COVID-19 protocols during the voting process, he said.

    West Bengal on Thursday recorded the highest single- day spike of 6,769 coronavirus cases and at least 22 more fatalities.

    Prominent names in the fifth phase include Siliguri Mayor and Left Front leader Ashok Bhattacharya, state ministers Gautam Deb and Bratya Basu and BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya.

    Voting will be held at 15,789 polling stations in the 45 constituencies 16 seats in North 24 Parganas, eight each in Purba Bardhaman and Nadia, seven in Jalpaiguri, five in Darjeeling and one in Kalimpong district.

    The phase is crucial for the ruling Trinamool Congress, which is hoping to better its 2016 tally of 32 seats, even as a resurgent BJP looks to make inroads.

    The Left-Congress alliance had bagged 10 seats in the assembly elections five years ago.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who had Thursday urged the EC to consider conducting the polls for the remaining assembly seats at one go in the wake of the emerging COVID-19 situation, held several public meetings and roadshows in most of the seats in the run-up to the fifth phase.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the campaign blitzkrieg of the BJP, which has fortified into TMC’s main challenger in this election.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, too, has held two public meetings in north Bengal as part of his first campaign in the state for the assembly polls.

    Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Wednesday with the EC having increased the ‘silence period’ from 48 to 72 hours in view of the Cooch Behar violence.

    Elections have been held in 135 constituencies so far, and the remaining 159 seats are set to go to polls between April 17 and 29.

  • 24-hour campaign ban on BJP’s Dilip Ghosh over his Sitalkuchi remarks

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: he Election Commission Thursday evening imposed a 24-hour campaign ban on the BJP’s West Bengal president Dilip Ghosh for his “there will be Sitalkuchi in several places” remarks.

    The Commission “sternly” warned Ghosh and advised him to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when the Model Code of Conduct is in force, the order said.

    Four people were killed in a firing incident by CISF personnel in the Sitalkuchi Assembly seat during the fourth phase of polls in West Bengal on Saturday.

    Officials had said the jawans opened fire after they came under attack from locals.

    ALSO READ: Cooch Behar firing: Election Commission notice to Dilip Ghosh, seeks explanation for statement

    The ban on Ghosh will be in effect from 7 pm April 15 to 7 pm April 16, during which Ghosh will not be allowed to campaign.

    The order said Ghosh made “highly provocative and inciteful remarks which could adversely impact law and order thereby adversely affecting the election process”.

    The Commission had on Tuesday issued a notice to Ghosh for his alleged remarks after four people were killed when central forces opened fire during polling at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district.

    The Trinamool Congress had approached the Commission against Ghosh.

    The notice cited Ghosh’s alleged remarks that “if someone crosses his limits then you have seen what happened in Sitalkuchi.

    There will be Sitalkuchi in several places.

    ” In his reply to the notice, Ghosh said “election-related violence witnessed in West Bengal is distinctive”.

    He alleged in his reply that an environment of fear and intimidation has been created by the leaders of the All India Trinamool Congress jeopardising the conduct of free, fair and peaceful polls.

    As the state party president, it was his solemn duty to stand by his party workers and encourage voters to cast the ballot without fear, Ghosh said, adding that it was never his intention to make any statement which would be in contravention of the model code, the electoral laws or the Indian Penal Code.

    His statement was only directed at the miscreants and anti-socials who create disturbances and negatively impact the maintenance of law and order, he told the panel.

    He also regretted his remarks.

    The high-octane assembly election campaign in the state, where the BJP and the Trinamool Congress have unleashed a no-holds-barred attack against each other, has seen the EC clamping down on leaders of both parties for their objectionable utterances.

    On Monday, the poll panel barred West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for her remarks against central forces and a statement that allegedly had religious overtones.

    On Tuesday, the EC had barred BJP leader Rahul Sinha from campaigning for 48 hours over his “provocative” remarks on the killing of four people in firing by CISF personnel during the Sitalkuchi poll violence.

  • Bengal polls: Mamata holds roadshow, Dilip Ghosh barred from campaigning for 24 hours

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held her second roadshow from Beliaghata to Bowbazar, a 4.5km-stretch under the scorching heat in Kolkata. 

    She was accompanied by Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachhan. Banerjee held her first roadshow on March 14.

    With hundreds of supporters following her, the roadshow on Thursday travelled along arterial roads of east and central Kolkata. 

    “I am accompanying her (Mamata) because of the slew of development works that were carried out during the TMC’s regime in Bengal. The TMC will win this election and the BJP will be whitewashed,” said Jaya Bachchan.

    ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Congress nominee dies of Covid, CPM cancels large rallies as cases spike

    BJP state president barred from campaigning

    The Election Commission of India on Thursday barred BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh from campaigning for 24 hours starting from 8 pm on Thursday for his provocative statement in connection with the Cooch Behar firing in which four persons were gunned by central forces.

    Shortly after the incident of firing on April 10, Ghosh, while addressing a rally in Baranagar, North 24 Parganas, said, “If someone crosses his limits, then you have seen what happened in Sitalkuchi. There will be Sitalkuchi in several places.”

    The Trinamool Congress moved the poll panel alleging the provocative statement was a gross violation of the model code of conduct. Two days ago, the Commission served a notice on Ghosh asking him to clarify his statement.

    On Thursday, the Commission made it clear that it was not satisfied with Ghosh’s reply. ‘The Commission has carefully considered the reply of Shri Dilip Ghosh and is of the considered view that he has violated clauses (1) & (4) of Part 1 of ‘General Conduct of Model Code of Conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates and made highly provocative and inciteful remarks which could adversely impact law & order thereby adversely affecting the election process,” the Commission says in its order.

  • Bengal polls: Congress nominee dies of Covid, CPM cancels large rallies as cases spike

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The Election Commission, which is tasked with peaceful polling amid soaring mercury in West Bengal, is facing another challenge — rising Covid cases.

    The virus claimed the life of a Congress candidate on Thursday and infected two other contestants.

    Congress candidate from Samserganj, Murshidabad, Rezaul Haque died in a private healthcare unit in Kolkata on Thursday after he rested positive for Covid-19. Haque was admitted to a private hospital with acute respiratory problems.

    Left Front’s ally RSP candidate from Jangipur, Murshidabad, Pradip Nandi, and TMC candidate from Goalpokhar, North Dinajpur, Golam Rabbani tested positive for Covid. Rabbani was admitted to a hospital and Nandi is in home quarantine.

    On Wednesday, West Bengal recorded the highest single-day spike of 5,892 cases and 24 deaths. In Kolkata, 1,601 new cases and seven deaths were reported in 24 hours.

    ALSO READ | ‘Bell for Mamata’s departure has already rung’: Nadda lashes out at Bengal CM

    The EC convened an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss how poll campaignings should be conducted in the wake of the pandemic. The CPI(M) already announced that it would not organise large rallies and roadshows and asked its workers to carry out the door-to-door campaigns and use social media platforms to reach out to the electorates.

    State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he would welcome Election Commission’s decision whatever it would be. “Life is more valuable than election.”

    The ruling Trinamool Congress demanded to conduct the last three phases of the election in one go.

    Responding to experts, who have been blaming large political rallies for the sudden spurt in positive cases in the state, the CPI(M) decided to restrict its poll campaign to door-to-door.

    “We have decided that we will not hold large rallies. We will campaign door-to-door and through social media. Door-to-door and street corners will be held following proper Codid protocols,” said Mohammad Selim, CPI(M)’s politburo member.

    The announcement means the CPI(M) would not hold large rallies for the sixth, seventh and eighth phases of the polls. The campaign for the fifth phase of the polls, scheduled for April 17, came to end on Wednesday as the Election Commission extended the silence period before the polls to 72 hours (from 48 hours) after the Cooch Behar firing in which four persons were gunned down by central troops.

  • Bengal polls: Congress nominee dies of Covid, CPM cancels large rallies as cases spike

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The Election Commission, which is tasked with peaceful polling amid soaring mercury in West Bengal, is facing another challenge — rising Covid cases.

    The virus claimed the life of a Congress candidate on Thursday and infected two other contestants.

    Congress candidate from Samserganj, Murshidabad, Rezaul Haque died in a private healthcare unit in Kolkata on Thursday after he rested positive for Covid-19. Haque was admitted to a private hospital with acute respiratory problems.

    Left Front’s ally RSP candidate from Jangipur, Murshidabad, Pradip Nandi, and TMC candidate from Goalpokhar, North Dinajpur, Golam Rabbani tested positive for Covid. Rabbani was admitted to a hospital and Nandi is in home quarantine.

    On Wednesday, West Bengal recorded the highest single-day spike of 5,892 cases and 24 deaths. In Kolkata, 1,601 new cases and seven deaths were reported in 24 hours.

    ALSO READ | ‘Bell for Mamata’s departure has already rung’: Nadda lashes out at Bengal CM

    The EC convened an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss how poll campaignings should be conducted in the wake of the pandemic. The CPI(M) already announced that it would not organise large rallies and roadshows and asked its workers to carry out the door-to-door campaigns and use social media platforms to reach out to the electorates.

    State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he would welcome Election Commission’s decision whatever it would be. “Life is more valuable than election.”

    The ruling Trinamool Congress demanded to conduct the last three phases of the election in one go.

    Responding to experts, who have been blaming large political rallies for the sudden spurt in positive cases in the state, the CPI(M) decided to restrict its poll campaign to door-to-door.

    “We have decided that we will not hold large rallies. We will campaign door-to-door and through social media. Door-to-door and street corners will be held following proper Codid protocols,” said Mohammad Selim, CPI(M)’s politburo member.

    The announcement means the CPI(M) would not hold large rallies for the sixth, seventh and eighth phases of the polls. The campaign for the fifth phase of the polls, scheduled for April 17, came to end on Wednesday as the Election Commission extended the silence period before the polls to 72 hours (from 48 hours) after the Cooch Behar firing in which four persons were gunned down by central troops.

  • ‘Mamata getting disturbed despite PM giving her respect’: Smriti Irani on Modi’s ‘Didi, o Didi’ slogan

    By ANI
    NORTH 24 PARGANAS: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Wednesday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that while she talks of ‘khela hobe’, the people of the state are saying there will be slogans for lotus.

    Addressing a public gathering in Shikarpur, Irani said: “Didi is getting disturbed on being called ‘Didi’ and is stating why PM Modi is saying ‘Didi, o Didi’. She is getting disturbed. PM Modi is giving her respect and she is insulting him. But her ‘khela’ means insulting others.”

    “Before this election, she told every person ‘khela hobe’. But she does not know that after each phase, people of Bengal are telling her ‘Didi, you are saying khela hobe, people are saying ‘poddophooler naara hobe’ (there will be slogans for the lotus),” she added.

    Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP.

    She further targeted Banerjee, saying that the party which talks of ‘Ma, Mati and Manush’ is “insulting women, bloodying the soil and handing over homes to syndicates”.

    She alleged that Mamata Banerjee came to power on the claims of bringing ‘poriborton’ (change) and ending the atrocities inflicted by the Left government but the “previous government’s goons have now turned into the goons of Trinamool Congress (TMC).”

    Irani also claimed that a video clip has emerged in Ashok Nagar where Mamata Banerjee allegedly told a TMC candidate “to stop his smuggling”.

    “This is not an ordinary election. This election is for the development of every poor person and family, the respect of every woman in Bengal,” she said.

    “Didi says’ Bangla nijer meyeke chaaye’ (Bengal wants her own daughter). I said earlier that which daughter are you talking about? What situation she and her goons had left the state in after the Amphan cyclone? Did the rice sent by the PM Modi reach the people? TMC’s goons have stolen the rice of poor people,” the Union Minister said.

    Irani said once a BJP government is formed in the state, “every TMC goon will be sent behind bars”.

    “Every vote for the TMC is an insult to women, poor people, and the state. If you want to protect the state and preserve the culture, press the lotus and give your blessings to BJP,” she added.

    The high-decibel campaigning for the fifth phase of the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Wednesday, as leaders of the political parties taking part in the high-stakes polls left no stone unturned to woo the voters of the state.

    The campaigning ended early today as the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said the silence period for the fifth phase shall be extended to 72 hours. The decision came after violence in the fourth phase of the election in which five persons died.

  • Bengal polls: EC calls all party meeting as COVID situation worsens in poll-bound state

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Aariz Aftab Wednesday called an all party meeting on April 16 following the Calcutta High Court direction to the CEO and all district magistrates in the state to ensure strict implementation of COVID-19 protocol during campaigning for the remaining four phases of the state election, an EC official said.

    All political parties in the state have been asked to send only one representative each for the meeting which will discuss matters related to the campaigning for the last four phases of the poll, he said.

    There will be discussions on the norms of social distancing and relevant COVID-19 protocol, the official added.

    State Additional Director General of police (Law and Order) Jag Mohan and state health secretary N S Nigam will also be present in the meeting, he said.

    The Calcutta High Court had on Tuesday directed that all health-related guidelines should be maintained in the strictest possible manner with regard to campaigning by political parties for the West Bengal assembly polls in view of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

    Hearing two PILs in this regard, a division bench presided by Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan had ordered that all district magistrates will ensure that the guidelines laid down by the EC and CEO are strictly implemented in letter and spirit and if necessary, with police aid.

    The court had said that it is in the public interest that the administration should ensure that all the COVID-19 guidelines are strictly adhered to by all concerned, including those engaged in election campaign activities.

    Meanwhile, the CPI-M on Wednesday decided that no big rallies will be organised by it for campaigning for the remaining phases of the state election and emphasis would be laid on door-to-door campaigning and small group meetings.

    CPI-M Politburo member Md Salim told reporters, “We had seen the high turnouts in our meetings in all the phases of polling so far. With the sharp rise in Covid-19 we have decided not to hold any big rally to prevent any contamination. We will undertake door to doors and small group meetings with all Covid-19 measures in place”.

    Campaigning for the fifth phase of polls ended on Wednesday, 72 hours before the voting on April 17.

    Salim said both the Centre and state government should act responsibly in the present situation for public safety and not politicise the COVID-19 issue.

    The senior CPI-M leader said the party will work to build more awareness among the general people about following basic preventive measures to stop the contagion.

    “We will also be on the side of the affected people like last year and help them with relief measures,” he added.

    on Wednesday recorded its highest-ever single-day spike of 5,892 coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 6,30,116, the state health department bulletin said.

    The death toll rose to 10,458 after 24 more fatalities were registered from different parts of the state, it added.

    In the last 24 hours, 2,297 COVID patients recovered in the state, it said.

    The discharge rate has slightly dipped to 93.16 per cent.

    The number of active cases rose to 32,621.

    Since Tuesday, 43,463 samples have been tested in the state, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 96,32,841, the bulletin said.

    Increase in coronavirus infections is a cause of worry for the state which is in the middle of elections.

    Four rounds of voting are over and the rest as many will be conducted by April 29.

    Results will come on May 2 along with other states where voting is over.

  • ‘Bell for Mamata’s departure has already rung’: Nadda lashes out at Bengal CM

    By PTI
    JAMALPUR/ASANSOL/KOLKATA: BJP president J P Nadda Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the language she used against BJP top leaders and for disrespecting the culture of Bengal and said the bell for her departure has already rung.

    Contending that the BJP is the true upholder and protector of Bengal’s culture, Nadda said that the saffron party has worked to spread the messages of great philosophers and thinkers of the state who provided direction to the people of the country.

    Nadda said that it is BJP which has been spreading the messages of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahans, Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore and Syama Prasad Mookerjee throughout the country.

    “Are the words used by her for Modiji (PM), Amit Shah during her campaigns and the adornments she used with my name the culture of Bengal?” he asked.

    “So it is we who are insiders, we who are the protectors of Bengals culture. You (Banerjee) have disrespected the culture of Bengal while we have given it the appropriate respect,” the BJP chief asserted while addressing a public meeting of the party at Jamlpur in Purba Bardhaman district.

    Banerjee has often called BJP a party of outsiders, meaning a party of poeple from other states.

    Nadda claimed that the chief minister is doing ‘Chandi path’ (reciting hymns of Goddess Chandi) with the election in mind after denying permission for the immersion of Durga idol and holding of Saraswati puja in the state.

    “She may ring the bell (in a temple) as much as she wants, but the bell for her departure has already rung,” he said.

    Banerjee has politicised the police and criminalised politics in the state in her 10-year-long rule to give a free run to extortion, corruption and cut money culture, the BJP president asserted.

    “I urge you (people) to exercise your franchise to ban her (Banerjee) permanently for the sake of development of the state,” Nadda said at another rally at New Town in Kolkata.

    The BJP president said that on one side there is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who spreads the ho asks message of ‘sab ka sath sab ka vikas sab ka viswas’ for the collective development of 130 crore people of the country, while on the other side there is a political leader (Banerjee) who asks people of a community to get united.

    Why is she doing this and against whom? “Her (Banerjees) anxiety has reached such a point that being a chief minister she is asking people to gherao CAPF jawans,” he said.

    Maintaining that the Election Commission had banned Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for her comment asking people of a particular community to unite, Nadda wondered at the kind of government in West Bengal for the last 10 years (under TMC) “which works for dividing the society”.

    He said, It is astonishing that the chief minister did not spare a word about the killing of first time voter Ananda Barman, a dalit youth at the hands of TMC goons at Sitalkuchi.

    “Barman was killed in the fourth phase of the ongoing state poll on April 10. The death of every person is unfortunate, including that of the four persons who died in firing by central armed police force personnel when a mob allegedly tried to snatch their firearms and the voting machine also at Sitalkuchi. Banerjee should have spoken of Barman also while she expressed her deep sorrow for the loss of lives of the others,” Nadda said.

    Reacting to Nadda’s allegation, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that the BJP presiident need not give lessons to the TMC government on the issue and claimed that Dalits in Bengal are in a much better condition than in BJP-ruled states.

    Roy said that the TMC after returning to power in Bengal will ensure assistance for everyone who died and there will be no discrimination.

    Paying his espects to B R Ambedkar, the father of Indian Constitution on his birth anniversary, Nadda alleged at a rally at Katwa that under Banerjee’s leadership TMC leaders are insulting Dalits so many years after Independence.

    Claiming that a woman TMC leader had recently used derogatory words against people of scheduled castes and backward classes people, he said “Mamata didi has not said a word castigating the leader for her remarks, proving the TMC’s anti-Dalit stance.”

    At another poll meeting at Asansol, Nadda said that Bengal’s turnaround is not possible until the people of the state have an honest leadership and claimed that this time all the combinations for a real “parivartan” (change) are in place.

    Maintaining that a BJP government has to take over for ensuring the economic development of the state, the partys president said “What the people of Bengal are looking for is not just a change, but to regain its lost glory and recreation of Sonar Bangla (prosperous Bengal).”

    Earlier in the day, Nadda took part in a well-attended road show at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district.

  • ‘PM, Home Minister creating differences among people’: Trinamool complains to EC against Modi and Shah

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: A TMC delegation met the Election Commission on Wednesday. The leaders alleged that PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are creating differences among people of different castes and creed.

    TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed BJP leaders are making provocative statements.

    The delegation comprised MPs Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Santanu Sen.

    “We’re also condemning PM Modi’s way of delivering speeches. It is below the standard of a Prime Minister. It is very unfortunate that the Election Commission has not taken any cognizance of it till now,” they said.

    This comes after EC had barred West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for the Assembly elections for a period of 24 hours t till 8 pm on April 13, following her accusations against the Central Armed Police Forces that they are acting at the behest of BJP.

    TMC on Wednesday also wrote a letter to the Election Commission alleging that the poll panel is “malfunctioning” and its state of affairs is “deplorable”.

    In a two-page letter, they accused the Election Commission of having a partisan approach while acting on complaints filed by TMC.

    “During this Assembly election, it is apparent that the Election Commission is acting in a partisan manner, absolutely in favour of the BJP,” the party alleged.