Our view ignored, says Trinamool as Bengal goes for sevenphase LS poll
Ruling party says the Election Commission chose to ignore the reasons placed by its leadership and State government for holding polls for 42 LS seats in one phase; BJP welcomes poll schedule
Lok Sabha election on 42 seats of West Bengal will be conducted in seven phases beginning April 19 and concluding on June 1, according to the schedule announced by Election Commission of India on Saturday. The constituencies of north Bengal will go to polls in the first phases following which the election caravan will move to central, southwest and finally south Bengal.
About 7.60 crore voters in West Bengal will be eligible to exercise their franchise to elect 42 MPs from the State.
‘Quite surprising’
Reacting to the announcement, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership said that the party’s suggestion of holding polls across the State was ignored by the Election Commission. Minister and party leader Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the party sought singlephase elections because voter participation drops with polls over several phases.
Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray claimed that the general election schedule disregarded the federal structure of the country. “The State government’s views were not taken into account. We fail to understand the reasons for holding such a long election. This is quite surprising,” he said.
The BJP leadership in West Bengal welcomed the sevenphase polls in State citing the long history of political violence.
The State has witnessed elections in multiple phases, including an eightphase Assembly poll in 2021. Opposition parties on Saturday, including State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, again demanded the deployment of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in the State at the earliest.
Hours before the Election Commission’s announcement, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said that he will hit the streets to ensure there is no violence in the State during the polls. “I will be in the field right from Day One of the election. My two priorities will be to see that no violence and corruption take place during the election,” he said.
Reacting to the Governor’s comments, Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said that Mr. Bose should not be on the streets during elections but he should ensure that central forces do not work as cadres of the BJP.