Last Friday, just a day before the first phase of polls in Bengal, a missing BJP worker was found hanging from a tree in West Midnapore, while four Trinamool men were injured in a bomb blast in Bankura. It appeared political violence on the eve of assembly elections is going to haunt Bengal for the next one month.
Today is the penultimate day of the second phase of polls in Bengal. The political temperature is running high, more so because the people of Nandigram will vote tomorrow to decide Mamata Banerjee’s fate. While the Chief Minister’s party (TMC) claimed it would win the seat rather easily, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed his candidate Suvendu Adhikari will win by a margin of 25 thousand votes. As the political parties are fighting it out fiercely, the people are scared that violence may mar the day of voting.
Things are taking turns for the worse from Tuesday itself. Nandigram itself was rocked yesterday by an allegation of raping and them trying to kill a BJP worker’s wife. The victim has named four TMC workers as the culprits. In Kanthi, a BJP worker Janmejoy Dolui succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. In Moina, BJP’s candidate Ashok Dinda, otherwise a famous cricketer, was attacked. He has been given Y plus category security from today. Another BJP candidate Harekrishna Bera was thrashed so badly that he had to be admitted to hospital. The Left has also alleged attacks against their workers.
On Wednesday, till 10 AM, two BJP workers have been attacked in Nandigram and Sabang. The common man is worried. Massive voting (82 per cent) marked the first phase of polling. In the tense situation, the Election Commission (EC) has imposed section 144 at different places and changed some police officers. Additionally, the EC has decided to use helicopters to keep watch on the situation tomorrow. Whether such measures will be effective is anybody’s guess.