'Suspicious of TMC including Bangladeshi, Rohingyas in voter list': West Bengal BJP to EC

Amid the heightened tensions in West Bengal over the rise in political violence, opposition parties have expressed their apprehension over the fairness in the conduct of the upcoming state assembly elections. West Bengal BJP delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta met Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday to raise the issue of law and order situation in West Bengal.

After the culmination of the meeting, Swapan Dasgupta said, "We have asked EC that considering the extraordinary circumstances in West Bengal, model code of conduct (MCC) should be applied at the earliest."

Dasgupta said Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain will visit West Bengal on December 17 while adding that the election commission has assured them of addressing their complaints.

"They will give full security during elections and will ensure that free and fair election takes place. We are happy to know that the Election Commission of India (ECI) fully understands and is aware of the problems of the state," he added.

Dasgupta expressed his suspicion that the ruling TMC is including Bangladeshi and Rohingyas in the voter list and stated that the EC will make an audit of the voter list. He also said that the EC will cross check the voter list as some of the names of the voters living near the border areas are missing.

"These are extraordinary situations in West Bengal. If MCC comes in the state, paramilitary forces will be deployed and EC guidelines will be rolled out. We do not want a situation of having votes without the voters", he added.

Even Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan of Congress had met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday to discuss the need to have fair elections, while also expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order in the state.

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Attack on JP Nadda's convoy

The meeting was held in the context of the attack on BJP President JP Nadda's convoy on December 10 and several BJP leaders including Kailash Vijayvargiya were injured when protesters pelted stones at their vehicles at West Bengal's Diamond Harbour. Moreover, the meeting of BJP delegation with EC also comes ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's impending visit to the state, which is said to be scheduled on December 19.

Following the attack, the Ministry of Home Affairs had summoned the state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) and other top West Bengal government officials over the law and order situation in the state. However, the West Bengal government decided not to send them. The MHA is seeking legal advice to take action against five officials after they defied MHA summons on Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government's order.

Rising political violence

The state has witnessed a rise in incidents of political violence, especially against the BJP cadre and leaders with more than 120 of them being killed in the political violence allegedly perpetrated by the ruling party. The opposition has raised doubts over the fairness of the assembly elections while alleging the state police to be acting as "goons" at the behest of the ruling TMC. The BJP, which has emerged as the main challenger for the ruling TMC ahead of the assembly polls next year, has also kicked off booth level activities in the run-up to the 2021 polls. The Legislative Assembly election for 294 seats in the State is likely to be held sometime between April and May in 2021.

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