Trinamool Congress leaders express their deep shame over the deaths of 11 party members during the violent panchayat elections
In a terrible turn of events, violence broke out during the recently held panchayat elections in West Bengal, resulting in the deaths of 15 people and extensive property damage. Senior members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party in power, expressed their profound humiliation and demanded a stop to the pervasive tradition of political violence. It is shocking to learn that 11 of the dead were connected to the TMC.
Former police officer and senior TMC MLA Humayun Kabir voiced his displeasure, stating, “I hang my head in shame as a Bengali, and everyone else should also be embarrassed that even in 2023, we could not eliminate this culture of violence. We need to consider why we can’t reject this culture. No other location has as much violence as this one does.
In West Bengal, the fighting and bloodshed that occurred during the panchayat elections have long been a source of worry. 33 people have died as a result of political unrest since the election’s schedule was announced early last month. Similar tragedies that claimed the lives of 30 and 76 people, respectively, happened in the 2018 and 2003 panchayat elections.
The State Election Commission (SEC), which they blamed for failing to guarantee peaceful elections, was criticized by TMC officials while simultaneously condemning the violence. Sougata Roy, a senior TMC lawmaker, said, “It would have been preferable if the polls had taken place in a calm environment. Unfortunately, there were a lot of fatalities. The SEC is responsible for making sure that elections are conducted peacefully. Political violence must not be tolerated.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disputed the TMC’s claims, calling them “late realizations,” and charged the TMC of having perfected the identical violent culture they now decry. “Sougata Roy occasionally tries to act like an inner voice of the TMC, but regrettably, his views have no adherents in his party,” said BJP state spokesman Samik Bhattacharya. All that is here are crocodile tears. The TMC had perfected the political culture that the CPI(M) had introduced to Bengal.
Political groups are engaged in a verbal battle as a result of the violent episodes that occurred during the panchayat elections. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition, has called for a thorough probe into the violence by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of probe (CBI). In contrast, the TMC has charged the opposition with starting the fights and claimed confidence in winning the election when the votes are tallied on Tuesday.
The tensions that arose when the state administration published the election dates were the root causes of the violence that increased during Bengal’s Panchayat elections. The announcement was challenged by the opposition, which included the BJP, the Left, and the Congress. They said that there wasn’t enough time for 60,000 candidates to submit their nominations. Numerous violent occurrences spread across the state as a result of this hostility.
While disputing the accusations, the TMC gave its party members instructions to guarantee peaceful elections. Conflicts, however, persisted even on election day. The Panchayat elections serve as a significant test for the main political groups in West Bengal, including the TMC, BJP, and Left-Congress alliance, as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections draw near. These surveys will serve as a crucial barometer of the state’s political climate after the TMC’s stunning victory in the 2021 Assembly Elections, especially in light of the most recent claims of corruption against the governing party.
