In Bengal, a new low in electoral politics

Thanks to the Trinamool, the panchayat polls have turned into a travesty

West Bengal’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has achieved a unique feat. A fortnight before polling day, it has won more than one-third of the seats in the rural polls. TMC won 34.2% of the 58,692 seats in the three-tier panchayat structure, setting an electoral record. After the withdrawal of nominations, it won 34.56% of the seats at the gram panchayat level; 33.18% at the panchayat samiti level; and 24.6% at the zilla parishad tier. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s party also won four zilla parishads (district councils) out of 20. The rural polls are crucial for parties to assert their hold and power at the grassroots level. The run up to the polls have been marked by bitter acrimony and violence as the BJP tries to increase its footprint in Bengal and TMC does whatever it can to hold on to the power it has. Panchayats have been hailed as an optimum model for decentralising administration. In Bengal, it has also become a model for decentralisation of muscle power.

Even before nominations began on April 2, men on motorcycles, armed with sticks and swords, were seen outside block development and sub divisional offices where nomination papers were submitted. The idea was to prevent Opposition candidates from filing nominations.over the next few days, every weapon of intimidation was freely deployed. The result: even the record of the formidable Left front — it won 11% of the total seats uncontested in 2003 — paled before the TMC juggernaut.

More may be in store on May 14, the day of polling. The state has 58,476 booths and just about 81,000 policemen. The State Election Commission settled for a single-day polling schedule after Ms Banerjee insisted that polls be held before the Ramzan month (likely to begin on May 16). The government is spending ₹360 crore on the rural elections. That is without budgeting for the cost of millions of man-days. The estimated expenditure for the polls is almost 40% of the budgetary allocation of ₹905 crore for backward classes welfare. Worse, with a third of the seats won without a contest, the process has turned into a travesty.