THE Left Front has begun its election campaign in West Bengal by squarely battling terror in most affected areas. In the last 34 months of Trinamool regime, the ruling party has unleashed political terror in a large part of the state. No normal political activities are allowed in these areas, with murders, arson, false cases, and attacks on women becoming regular feature. But Left Front activists have gathered strength and regrouped in these areas and Red flags are up again. Raina in Burdwan can be an example. Repeated attacks have taken place in villages of this block with a first woman martyr during the TMC regime coming from here within days of the new government taking over. Hundreds of villagers have been rendered homeless. Police atrocities have become a regular feature. In the last panchayat elections, ruling party goons captured booths wherever there was a contest. Finally, the CPI(M) zonal offices were attacked and burnt just a month ago. Despite all these, villagers have gathered courage and in last one week numerous meetings have taken place in villages with Left leaders and candidate of Burdwan East attending those gatherings. In Kurmun, near Burdwan town, people gathered to attend face-to-face programme of the Left Front candidate in Burdwan-Durgapur, Sk Saidul Haque, a sitting MP. In brutal response, a TMC armed squad, with police in their tow, attacked the village at midnight. Women were molested, houses were attacked and many villagers were picked up by the police and false cases were registered against them. In Vajachauli, near Khejuri in Kanthi constituency, the Red flag was hoisted for the first time in five years. The entire area had been declared ‘Red-free’ after TMC won the last Lok Sabha elections here. Despite terror, some of the panchayats were won by CPI(M) here. But elected members, including women, faced kidnapping and false cases, and were not allowed to live in their own villages also. Around 50 offices of CPI(M) have been forcibly closed in adjoining areas. A total of 1924 peasants have been evicted from their land. In spite of intensive terrorisation, poor people of the area have organized campaign programme of Left Front candidate and former general secretary of DYFI Tapas Sinha. In Arambagh, democracy has become a lost word. There was no contest in panchayat elections too, as TMC did not allow anyone to file their nominations. Around 1200 CPI(M) activists have been ‘booked’ in false cases. Unaccounted number of rapes have taken place. Braving all these, sitting MP and Left Front candidate Shaktimohan Malik has started visiting villages and received warm receptions. On 11th March, the CPI(M) candidate addressed villagers in Dihibagan responding to an invitation by them. The village was attacked immediately and the villagers had to flee to safer places. Police reached the village next morning, only to arrest CPI(M) sympathizers. But the news of such attack has not deterred other areas to organize campaign. In many areas of Uluberia constituency, CPI(M) has not been allowed to function. In areas like Chandrapur, no Red flag is allowed. Despite winning majority of the panchayats in Bakshi, the elected Left Front representatives are not being allowed to function. In Amta, most heinous crime of politically motivated mass rape has taken place. But these have failed to stop campaign of Left Front candidate and DYFI leader Sabiruddin Mollah. In these areas, the only demand of the villagers is a free vote. In large part of Amdanga, an area in Barrackpore constituency, TMC has unleashed wild terror, particularly in the last one year. Panchayat elections were rigged by armed gangs. In the first week of March, TMC and police have started a joint operation to force the male villagers to leave the villages. Houses of CPI(M) supporters were attacked, ransacked and burnt. When Subhashini Ali, the CPI(M) candidate, visited these areas, women burst into tears and narrated their plight. INTENSIVE MODE OF CAMPAIGNING Earlier, the CPI(M) West Bengal state committee decided to conduct the entire campaign in an intensive mode. The main thrust will be meeting each and every family a number of times. Small area meetings will be done in thousands throughout the state. Booklets on corruption, attack on women, attack on democracy, real face of Trinamool have been released by Left Front chairman Bimnan Basu. He said Left Front workers will go to the people with these booklets. Left Front will publish an appeal apart from the all India manifesto of CPI(M) and other left constituents. CPI(M) state secretary Biman Basu has called upon all leaders and activists to conduct the voters’ meetings ‘through dialogue and not in monologue fashion’. CPI(M) state committee has already reviewed the preparation of the election struggle. Booth level committees, comprising Party sympathisers, eminent personalities from different walks of life and youth, will be main vehicle of door-to-door campaign and mobilizing people. Such committees have already been formed and they have started working. That is why within hours of announcement of candidates, walls in many places were splashed with candidates’ names, symbols and slogans. In all constituencies, candidates have started meeting the voters. In contrast to ‘star-studded’ candidate list of the ruling TMC, the Left Front chose grassroots-level political workers as candidates in many seats. 26 new candidates along with 12 from SC-ST and 11 from Muslim minority are there in the Left Front list. The list has received warm welcome not only from people but even in media. There are many young candidates, including Sk Ibrahim Ali from Tamluk who has just crossed 26. DYFI leader Tirthankar Roy in Srirampur, Rinku Naskar in Mathurapur, Sabiruddin Mollah in Uluberia are very young. Subhashini Ali’s presence in Barrackpore has already created an enthusiasm among the workers. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya addressed two large gatherings in Howrah and Ranaghat. Accusing both Congress and BJP of pursuing "pro-rich policies", Bhattacharjee asserted on 15th March that only the Left parties had the correct alternative policies."There is no difference between policies of the Congress and the BJP, their sole aim is making the rich more richer and robbing the poor. "They can dole out subsidies to big corporates but when it comes to giving subsidies for public distribution system, they don't have the money," said Bhattacharjee. Attacking the centre over its policies especially fuel pricing and rising prices of commodities, Bhattacharjee urged people to drive away the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and prevent the BJP from coming to power. Bhattacharjee launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress government for its failure to generate employment, saying that not a single new factory was set up since the Left Front was voted out of power. “What is the state government doing? They are busy in indulging in festivities and organising cultural events claiming to have completed 90 per cent of work. They are clueless about what the job of a state government is,” he said. “After we (Left Front) were voted out of power, not even a single new factory has come up in the State. Whatever is there were set up by us during the last eight to 10 years of our tenure”, he said. YECHURY CAMPAIGNS On the same day, 15th March, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, launching his campaign in Bengal, said that if the people of West Bengal are allowed to cast their votes in a free and fair manner, the Left Front will manage a historic win in the coming Lok Sabha elections. “So it has to be ensured that people get to cast their mandate in a legitimate manner and for that the EC and other authorities concerned must act accordingly,” he said. He also highlighted the ever depressing status of democracy and governance in West Bengal under the TMC regime. He took a dig at that party saying that it is desperate to manage for itself some space at the centre. It is continuing its massive attack on democracy in the state while projecting the bubble of a federal front. West Bengal was known as a secure place for women to dwell with dignity and respect. And now it sadly stands out on the magnitude of atrocities against women. Speaking at both Tamluk and Kanthi in the East Medinipur district of West Bengal, Sitaram Yechury said that the people of Bengal must vote in favour of democracy and must take the pledge to create a government at the centre which would be their own.