News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal Elections

  • Most turncoats in West Bengal who switched to BJP either trailing or taste defeat

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: They were rewarded by their new party with election tickets for switching allegiance. However, jumping sides backfired for most of the turncoats in West Bengal as many BJP candidates, who defected from the ruling TMC, were either trailing or tasted defeats in the assembly polls.

    However, a few defectors, who joined the BJP, got the better of their TMC rivals, including Suvendu Adhikari who emerged as a proverbial giant slayer, by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee albeit by a narrow margin.

    Among prominent TMC turncoats who lost the battle were former state minister Rajib Banerjee, ex-MLA from Singur Rabindranath Bhattacharya, actor Rudranil Ghosh and former Howrah Mayor Rathin Chakrabarty.

    Some of them joined BJP with much fanfare after being flown to the national capital on a chartered flight.

    Banerjee, who had defected to the BJP early this year, failed to make a hat-trick of win from Domjur constituency as he lost to TMCs Kalyan Ghosh by 42,620 votes.

    Bhattacharya, who quit the TMC after being denied an election ticket, was defeated by the ruling party’s candidate from Singur, Becharam Manna by nearly 26,000 votes.

    The BJP nominee was seeking re-election from the seat.

    Singur in Hooghly district has been on India’s political map after a farmers’ stir forced the exit of Tata’s small car project and is also a constituency which along with Nandigram shook the foundations of the mighty 34-year-old Left Front regime and propelled TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to power in 2011.

    Ghosh, who had joined the saffron camp recently, tasted a crushing defeat to TMC’s heavyweight and minister Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay from Bhabanipur, the seat vacated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

    Chattopadhyay won from the constituency by over 28,000 votes.

    Chakrabarty, who was mayor of the TMC-run Howrah Municipal Corporation and crossed over to the BJP before the polls, lost to former India cricketer and political debutant Manoj Tiwary from Shibpur by over 32,000 votes.

    Another top defectors to the saffron camp were former TMC legislator from Bally Baishali Dalmiya and ex-Asansol Mayor Jitendra Tewari.

    Tewari, a two-time former TMC MLA from Pandabeswar, who had also crossed over to the BJP before the polls, was trailing the ruling party nominee from the seat, Narendranath Chakraborty.

    Dalmiya, who was expelled from TMC for allegedly speaking out against the party’s leadership and had later joined the BJP, was also trailing behind Rana Chatterjee, a ruling party nominee from Bally.

    Prabir Kumar Ghosal, an ex-TMC MLA, who was seeking re-election from Uttarpara on a BJP ticket this time, also lost to Kanchan Mallick of the ruling party by over 35,000 votes.

    Another former TMC MLA Silbhadra Datta, who fought the elections as a saffron party aspirant, also tasted defeat from Khardah.

    Former TMC legislator Dipak Halder, who was nominated by the saffron party from Diamond Harbour, was trailing Pannalal Halder of the ruling party.

    While Sabyasachi Dutta, who had joined the BJP in October 2019, lost to Sujit Bose from the Bidhanagar seat by 7,997 votes.

    However, BJP’s vice president Mukul Roy who had switched side from Bengal’s ruling party in 2017, emerged victorious from Krishnanagar Uttar, defeating actress-turned- TMC nominee Koushani Mukherjee by a margin of 35,000 votes.

    Mihir Goswami, who had joined BJP a few months back, won the Natabari seat by defeating Rabindranath Ghosh of TMC.

  • Bengal elections 2021: Rallies lead to sharp rise in COVID-19 cases

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: West Bengal is witnessing a steep rise in COVID-19 cases and fatalities, and many health experts held month-long political extravaganzas responsible for the spread of the coronavirus in urban as well as rural regions of the state.

    The state registered its highest single-day spike of 17,411 COVID-19 cases and 96 deaths on. A week ago, 12,876 new coronavirus cases and 59 deaths were reported. Though the Centre announced a vaccination drive for all those 18 and above, the implementation on the ground in the state seems to be a task next to impossible.

    ALSO READ| Bengal’s Covid toll crosses 100-mark, two patients found dead at homes in Kolkata

    The chief minister announced the start of vaccinations for people in the age bracket from May 5, but an order issued by the state health department asks hospitals to give priority to those who are above 45 years old.

    The state government asked the Centre to provide 2 crore vaccine doses immediately but there was no response from the central government by Saturday evening.

    “Many people turned up at the state-run hospitals for vaccination but they had to return because of the shortage of vaccines. We have decided to allow the people with above 45 years on priority basis and secure the second dose of vaccine for these set of recipients,” said an official of the state government.

    The private hospitals are also running short of doses and they have stopped giving the first dose, focusing on giving second doses.Health experts found that no one other than political heavyweights are responsible for the steep spike in rural West Bengal. 

    “The first election day was March 27 and the state registered a single-day spike of only 812 cases and death of two persons. Now you see the figure has gone up to where,” said an official of the state’s health department.

    Districts in the state are registering five to eight times fresh COVID-19 cases per day comparing to the figure in October 2020 when the infection rate was at its peak.

    In the first wave of COVID-19, we managed to save rural regions of the state but this time the situation is alarming. This is simply because of rallies, roadshows and other political events,” said an official of the state’s health department.

  • Bengal elections 2021: Trinamool Congress, BJP in silent mode ahead of verdict

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Hours before the verdict of West Bengal’s electorates in the high-octane Assembly elections, two major stakeholders, the ruling Trinamool Congress and its arch rival BJP, preferred to be in silent mode and seemed to be busy reading the body language of each other.

    As the state witnessed a month-long fierce electoral battle, both the TMC and the saffron camp claimed on Saturday that they would secure majority in two third of the West Bengal’s 294 Assembly constituencies.

    The counting will begin at 8 am but the trends are likely to emerge late comparing to previous occasions because of COVID-19 pandemic. The number of polling booths were increased to more than 1 lakh from 78,000 in the wake of the pandemic which is likely to cause delay in announcing the final results.

    BJP’s spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya claimed on Saturday that the party would secure victory in more than 200 seats, the target set by the party’s national leadership much ahead of the elections. TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy, too, claimed the party would bag victory in 200 constituencies.

    However, the Left Front-Congress-Indian Secular Force (ISF) alliance claimed their candidates would give surprise to BJP and TMC in many constituencies.

    The TMC fielded candidates in 291 constituencies allowing Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to contest in three seats in the Hills. The BJP fielded candidates in 293 constituencies. Under the alliance, Left Front fielded candidates in 165 seats, Congress in 92 and ISF in 37 seats.

    In 2016, TMC had a stunning victory, winning 211 seats and bettering its 2011 tally of 184 seats. Congress won 44 seats and the Left Front won 33 seats fighting within an alliance. Exit poll results for West Bengal projected a cliff-hanger. Most exit polls that the CM may make it past the majority mark.

    ALL SET FOR VOTE COUNTING

    KOLKATA: When counting begins on 8 am in Sunday, there will be 292 observers and 256 companies of central forces deployed at the counting centres across 23 districts, the Election Commission said.

  • BJP crossed magic figure after sixth phase: JP Nadda

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: BJP national president J P Nadda on Monday claimed that his party had crossed the magic figure of 148 seats after the sixth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections held on April 22. He also expressed gratitude to the electorates for supporting the BJP.

    “The BJP is all set to come to power in West Bengal. We have already crossed 148 seats out of 294 required to form the government in the state. In the last two phases, the BJP will touch its target of bagging 200 constituencies,” said Nadda at a press conference in Kolkata as he concluded his party’s high-octane campaign for the West Bengal elections.

    Nadda also said the elections in the state remained peaceful this time as his party workers did not fall into the trap of the ruling Trinamool Congress.“TMC workers had been instigating our party workers since the first phase. But it was our foot-soldiers who did not step into their trap. The people voted for the BJP in large numbers and rejected the misrule of the Mamata Banerjee government,” he added.

    He reiterated that the BJP would keep its promise of building a “Sonar Bangla” and the process will start after May 2, the counting day. Nadda accused Banerjee of misleading people of West Bengal on various issues, ranging from “insider-outsider” to Covid vaccination during the campaigning. He also asserted his party had upheld the culture and legacy of Bengal as against the “insulting” language adopted by Banerjee against the BJP leadership.

  • WB polls: Didi terms poll panel BJP’s parrot

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Welcoming the Madras High Court’s observation that the Election Commission is the “the most irresponsible institution” for the alleged spread of the second wave of coronavirus in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday once again hit out at the panel for deploying around two lakh central forces personnel in the state for over a month without conducting their Covid-19 tests. 

    She also held the central forces, which were brought from other states, responsible for spreading infection in Bengal.‘’I welcome the Madras High Court observation… The commission has deployed around two lakh central force personnel and none of them went through the RT-PCR test. They are roaming from one place to another and spreading virus in the state,’’ alleged Banerjee.

    She also demanded immediate withdrawal of the central forces from West Bengal. ‘’Do we need such a huge volume of police personnel from outside the state to conduct the polls? Why can’t the panel trust the state police force?’’ she asked.

    The CM also lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly spreading the virus by bringing in his supporters from other states for his election rallies.‘’The commission is nothing but a mirror of the BJP. He (Modi) addressed several rallies where Covid safety protocols were flouted. The BJP brought a countless number of outsiders during the poll campaign that led to the Covid surge,’’ she said.

    The Trinamool Congress supremo said her party had repeatedly requested to club the last three phases of the polling for the safety of the common man. “The elections were over in other states within three phases. What prompted them to conduct the elections in Bengal in eight phases? Despite our several requests, the panel didn’t pay any heed to them. It has become a parrot and a mynah of the BJP,” she alleged.

    Banerjee also castigated the Election Commission’s decision to ban roadshows and public rallies with more than 500 people. “The decision was taken on the same day when Modi cancelled his four public rallies on April 23,” she said.

    ‘What was the need for 8-phase elections?’Mamata said the elections were over in other states within three phases. “What prompted them to conduct the polls in Bengal in eight phases? It has become a parrot and a mynah of the BJP,” she alleged.

  • West Bengal has highest coronavirus case spike rate in India

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: At 9.5%, poll-bound West Bengal has the highest Covid-19 case growth in the country now, data shared by the Union health ministry showed. It was followed by Karnataka, which has a near explosive growth rate of 9%, while Delhi, reeling under a huge medical oxygen crisis, has the second-lowest growth rate at 1.5% after Maharashtra (0.5 %), among the surge states. And at about 50%, Bengal’s capital Kolkata now has the highest test positivity rate.

    The stark West Bengal data showed a mirror to the Election Commission of India that till recently chose to ignore all violations of Covid-appropriate behaviour in the run up to the eight-phase elections in the state. Despite massive mask-less political rallies that created an uproar, the poll panel tried to wish them away till last week when it got a stinker from the Calcutta High Court and was forced to act.

    Another worrying figure was the 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, which coincided with the Haridwar Maha Kumbh, indicating the mela was a possible super spreader event in the state. Prior to the Maha Kumbh, the total active cases stood at 1,863 (March 31), but they quickly ballooned to 33,330 by April 24. 

    India, now the worst-hit in the pandemic globally, has been reporting nearly 1,500 or more daily deaths since April 20. On Sunday, the highest 2,812 fatalities were recorded. There are also concerns that the fatality count is being majorly undercounted in most cities and towns.

    In a health ministry press briefing on Monday, several government authorities, including V K Paul, member, Niti Aayog and Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS Delhi urged patients to follow home isolation protocols unless hospitalisation is absolutely required. 

  • West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP candidate’s agent detained for molesting women voters in Kolkata

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP candidate from the Rashbehari assembly constituency Lt Gen Subrata Saha’s agent was detained on Monday for allegedly molesting a few women voters inside a polling booth in the city’s New Alipore area, police said.

    Mohan Rao was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said.

    “We have received a complaint in this regard and a probe is underway,” he said.

    Rao, however, rubbished the allegations and said no such incident had taken place.

    “TMC activists are trying to create disturbance in the area. This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt the peaceful polling process,” Saha said. Polling is underway for 34 seats in the seventh phase of the assembly elections in the state.

  • Bengal polls: EC bans roadshows, big rallies after Covid safety norms flouted

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: The Election Commission on Thursday banned all roadshows, processions, and bike rallies in Bengal after it found severe violation of Covid-19 protocols in the events organised by the political parties. 

    In its order on Thursday evening, the poll panel also said no public meetings beyond the limit of 500 persons shall be permissible.

    Elaborating on its move, the poll panel said, “The Commission has noted several instances of election meetings and campaigns wherein norms of social distancing, wearing of masks, etc. have been flouted in blatant disregard of the Commission’s aforesaid guidelines. The Commission has also taken a serious view against repeated violations by star campaigners/political leaders/candidates who are supposed to be torchbearers for the campaign against Covid-19.”

    The Commission’s order said, “No roadshow/pad-yatra shall be permissible. No cycle/bike/vehicle rally shall be permissible. No public meeting beyond the limit of 500 persons at a place subject to availability of adequate space with social distancing, adhering to Covid safety norms, shall be permissible.”      

    ALSO READ | Calcutta HC expresses dissatisfaction with EC on implementation of Covid norms

    The EC order came hours after Kolkata High Court expressed dissatisfaction with the poll panel over enforcement of Covid safety norms during the ongoing elections.  

    Hearing three PILs seeking enforcement of Covid protocol on Thursday, a division bench presided by Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan said: “The Election Commission is empowered to act but what is it doing about polls in this Covid times? The EC just passing circulars and leaving it to the people. But the EC has implementing authority.”

    Commenting that the Commission “is not doing one-tenth of what TN Seshan had done”, the judge warned that if the poll panel did not take action, it will.

    Earlier, the panel banned campaigns from 7 pm to 10 am across the state and extended the silence period to 72 hours from 48 hours prior to the scheduled polling day.

  • Modi mentioned 2018 Asansol riots in speech to provoke voters, says Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    ASANSOL/TAPAN?RATUA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded people of 2018 Asansol riots during his rally last week to “provoke” voters amid the ongoing elections, and asserted that it was “unbecoming” of someone of his stature.

    The TMC boss, who addressed three rallies during the day, said it was a “matter of shame” that the PM, with his “provocative” remarks, tried to influence people.

    “You, members of different communities, are living in harmony. The other day, however, the prime minister visited Asansol and made many objectionable comments. He brought up the issue of riots and made provocative statements. This doesn’t befit a PM, or a home minister,” she said.

    Modi, during his address, had referred to the Asansol riots in 2018 on the occasion of Ram Navami, and indirectly blamed the TMC dispensation for the violence.

    Reminiscing that an imam of a local mosque, who lost his son in the riots, had said he didn’t want any more bloodshed or death, the TMC supremo said, “The imam’s words stand in contrast to what our PM says.

    “Even as people of different communities live here in peace, the PM rakes up the issue of riots.”

    Claiming that she “has come to know that a photo of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was removed from the podium, minutes before the PM began his public meeting in Asansol”, the CM said the media should be able to verify the same.

    “Kavi Nazrul Islam is the national poet of Bangladesh but he was born in Bengal, in Churulia village. We have named a university and the Andal airport after him. He is our pride,” she stated.

    Earlier in the day, Banerjee, during her rally in Tapan area of Dakshin Dinajpur district, slammed the BJP-led Centre over differential pricing of COVID-19 vaccines, and said that the Union government, flush with money collected under PM Cares Fund, should provide vaccines for free.

    Pointing out that Covishield is priced at Rs 150 for the Centre, Rs 400 for states and Rs 600 for private hospitals, the TMC supremo said, “Is it a joke? Why is that one vaccine being sold at different rates? Vaccines should not be commercialised.

    “The Centre has a lot of money in PM Cares Fund but it wouldn’t provide vaccines free of cost. Why couldn’t they (central leaders) do the needful all these months?” Alleging that “this COVID-19 rage was Modi’s contribution” to the country, she said, “So far, you (PM) have done nothing, you did not alert people or take necessary precautions when there was time.

    Now, amid the rise in cases, you are asking people to buy doses and get vaccinated!” Citing Israel, where masks are no longer mandatory, as an example, Banerjee said, “What happened in India? Until recently, the Modi government did not allow states to undertake the vaccination drive on their own, and that has only led to a delay in the process.”

    Underscoring that the TMC government has administered 43 lakh doses, she said, “As of now, we are inoculating 40,000-50,000 people every day. The state has sought one crore more shots.”

    She gave assurance that her party, following re- election, will administer vaccines for free to all residents of the state over 18 years of age.

    Banerjee also rued the fact that people are suffering due to shortage of medical oxygen, and said, “The PM held several meetings with the chief ministers. However, no master plan was prepared to ensure smooth supply of oxygen in the midst of this crisis.”

    Contending that the BJP’s “game plan to capture Bengal” will never succeed, the TMC boss said, “You (saffron party leaders) can rig one or two booths with the help of central forces, but not all.”

    Claiming that she has information that the central forces opened fire “at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas district”, when polling for the sixth phase of elections was underway, Banerjee said, “Such instances of firing, and deliberate lathicharge on voters should immediately stop.”

    She further stated that the high court has rightly told the Election Commission to take appropriate measures to conduct polls amid the COVID-19 surge.

    “The EC did not keep our request to club the last three phases of polls into one but instead curtailed campaign time from 10 am to 7 pm.

    The poll panel has also changed SPs and DMs to aid the saffron party.

    No matter what they do, the BJP will lose,” the feisty leader said.

    In Ratua area of Malda, she iterated that the Left, Congress and the ISF, which together have formed the Sanjukta Morcha, are “stooges” of the BJP.

    “You may have earlier voted for the Congress or the Left. Now, they have formed the Sanjukta Morcha. All of them are stooges of the BJP. Please vote for the Trinamool Congress to prevent the BJP from seizing power.”

    Banerjee asked the central security forces to perform ‘Rajdharma’ and not intimidate voters.

    “Today, I heard CAPF personnel beat up a block-level officer in Uttar Dinajpur district on the issue of setting up a fan (at a polling booth). I don’t know if an FIR has been filed in the matter. Such instances are unfortunate,” she added.

  • Two injured in bomb blast in West Bengal’s Ketugram ahead of polls, three held

    By PTI
    BARDHAMAN (WEST BENGAL): Two persons have been injured after a crude bomb exploded at a house in Ketugram assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, which will go to polls on Thursday in the sixth phase of elections, police said.

    The blast occurred at Chinispur village under Beru gram panchayat in Ketugram 1 block on Tuesday night. Three persons, residents of the same village, were arrested in connection with the incident. A court in Katwa remanded them to police custody for seven days.

    ALSO READ| Bengal elections 2021: Bomb hurled on BJP candidate’s car

    A villager who lodged a complaint with the police claimed that bombs were being made at that house. Addl SP (Rural), Dhruba Das, said that three firearms and materials used for making bombs have been recovered from the spot.

    The BJP candidate of Ketugram Constituency, Anadi Ghosh, claimed that the Trinamool Congress workers were behind the incident as they are trying to create trouble in the area. TMC nominee from the constituency Sheikh Shahnawaz denied the charge and said that no party workers were involved in the incident.