WB Assembly polls | Violence intrinsically linked to polls in West Bengal, say experts

As incidents escalate amid the marathon Assembly polls, analysts point to a historical antecedents of widespread attacks

Halfway into the marathon 33-day, eight-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal, leaders of the two major political parties are already talking about how violent these ongoing elections are. The ongoing 2021 poll is being compared to the 2018 panchayat polls in the State. While Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah said the Assembly polls have witnessed less violence than the 2018 panchayat polls, Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee pointed out that the ongoing polls have seen far more violence with central forces deployed at polling booths opening fire. Violence has been reported in all four phases of elections so far, including killings of both TMC and BJP workers. However, the fourth phase on Saturday which saw five persons killed at Sitalkuchi in north Bengal’s Cooch Behar district has turned the spotlight on the violence. Four youths of the victims died when Central Armed Forces opened fire at a polling booth in Jor Pakti gram panchayat in the district.