THE fight to exercise the right to vote has assumed a new dimension in West Bengal. In the first phase, large number of booths were captured particularly in Cooch Behar. TMC armed gangs had chased away voters and opposition polling agents from the polling booths in many areas of the constituency. The token presence of central para military forces was of no use. In the second phase, in Raiganj, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, there was large scale resistance of the people. In Raiganj, for example, citizens formed human chain days before the polling demanding free and fair voting.

Deferred Polling Proves Abject LawlessnessTHE Election Commission of India, in the night of April 16th, deferred the polling for Tripura East ST reserved parliamentary constituency scheduled to be held on April 18, to April 23. This decision from the ECI was prompted, as the notification says, by the reports from the CEO, special police observer and the returning officer of the constituency.

As the polling date draws close, state of political affairs in Kerala explicitly shows that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has an edge over the UDF and BJP in all 20 parliamentary constituencies, including Wayanad where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting. Kerala votes on April 23.The untimely and unusual decision of Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad seems to be counter-productive for the Congress, as the BJP is harping on the presence of Muslim League’s green flag in his public meetings in Wayanad.

CPI(M) had organised a protest dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on April 16 against the failure of Election Commission of India (ECI) in ensuring free and fair elections in Tripura. The polling for the West Tripura Lok Sabha seat saw large scale violence and rigging by the BJP. Election officials and observers and central forces were not seen in the booths that were “captured”.

WITH two phases over, campaign by the leaders, workers and supporters of CPI(M) is at its peak in West Bengal. The scorching sun and sweltering heat has not been able to act as a dampener to the combative spirit of the comrades. Every nook and cranny of every constituency is being visited by Left activists who have laid more stress on door-to door campaign and people-to-people contact.