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‘No CAPF to stop miscreants, we watched helplessly’: Bengal poll officials
Several polling officials in West Bengal complained of malpractices during the recent panchayat elections, including booth capturing and damaging of ballot boxes. They claimed that supporters of a particular political party were involved in these activities, with no Central Armed Police Force personnel present to stop them. The election saw a wave of violence, resulting in at least 19 deaths. The State Election Commission has ordered repolling in 697 booths across 19 districts. Opposition parties have accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of being behind the violence.
“Only a handful of voters were allowed to exercise their franchise at the polling booth where I was deployed as a polling officer. Supporters of a particular party stamped the ballot papers…we watched everything helplessly”
Forty-year-old Subir Das, a school teacher who served as a polling officer in Murshidabad district in south West Bengal during the panchayat elections on Saturday, was among several officials who complained of malpractices like booth capturing and damaging of ballot boxes, as political parties spread fear through violence and arson to keep voters and polling agents of rivals at bay.
“There were no Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel around to stop the miscreants. We watched everything helplessly,” Das, who refused to identify the political party and the designated number of the polling booth where the alleged malpractices took place, said.
He, however, said that the booth was located in Kandi sub-division of the district.
State government employees, including teachers from state-run schools, are usually deployed as polling officers during every election.
In north Bengal, 51-year-old Parag Biswas, an English teacher at a high school, was deployed as a presiding officer of a booth at a primary school in Jalpaiguri sadar community block.
“Only one policeman was stationed at the booth. Supporters of several political parties gathered without permission, telling us they would go on a rampage if their rivals resorted to any unfair means. They got into fistfights outside the booth,” Biswas said.
“After polling ended, around 50 men on motorcycles chased our car in which we were taking the ballot boxes to another school where CAPF personnel were present. The group saw the CAPF men and drove away. Had the CAPF personnel not arrived, they would have looted the ballot boxes,” Biswas added.
At least 19 people were killed and several injured in a wave of violence that marked the single-phase elections on Saturday, raising questions over the role of the state election commission’s (SEC) to ensure smooth conduct of polling. On Sunday, SEC ordered repolling in 697 booths spread across 19 districts.
In the run up to the polls, the Calcutta high court had directed SEC to requisition central forces and deploy them especially in constituencies that the polling body had already declared to be sensitive.
While SEC had sent requisition for 822 companies of central forces, only around 649 companies (around 59,000 personnel) were deployed on Saturday, according to people aware of the details. Another 681 companies (around 61,290 personnel) arrived after polling was over, they said.
The Border Security Force (BSF) was acting as the coordinating agency for deployment of CAPF.
“The Centre had earmarked all the forces and they were ready for mobilisation. We have been requesting the SEC to give us the list of sensitive booths, where the troops would be deployed. Had we got the list well in advance, we would have mobilised the forces accordingly. The list was not provided to us even on Saturday morning,” a senior BSF officer said on condition of anonymity.
The SEC, however, dismissed the officer’s claims, saying the list was declared before the high court.
“The district-wise deployment plan was made available to the BSF well in advance. The list of sensitive booths was also shared in the court. Also, the list of sensitive booths and deployment plans were available with the nodal officers of each district. We told the court that there were around 4,863 sensitive booths, which is around 7.84% of the total polling stations,” a senior SEC official said, wishing not to be named.
Amid allegations by opposition parties that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was behind the spate of violence, cabinet minister Firhad Hakim reiterated that polling was peaceful and violence took place only in around 60 of the state’s 61,636 polling booths – a claim made by the party on Saturday.
“Where were the central forces during the elections? Where was the coordinator? Supporters of BJP, CPI(M) and Congress killed so many of our men and now we have to take the blame as well,” he said.
