Record Breaking Turnout at the Polls
The recent turnout in the West Bengal elections is remarkable. More than 92 percent of voters turned out for the first round of the state elections to the assembly. The turnout was on a sweltering Thursday in 152 constituencies. Authorities were surprised at the crowds gathered outside the voting centres. This is the highest turnout in the state since the landmark elections of 2011.
A Rare Moment of Praise in Court
The country’s top court took notice of this extraordinary exercise in democracy. The Supreme Court showered the people of West Bengal with praise on Friday. India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant spoke of his happiness at the record turnout. He said such large turnout robustly backs the country’s democracy. It was a judicial cheer for an election often beset with challenges.
Silence Replaces the Usual Violence
The usual expectation of political violence in elections is common in this part of the world. However, the first phase of voting was extremely peaceful, barring some isolated, small clashes. Justice Joymalya Bagchi applauded the absence of major violence during the voting. The court speculated that a voter’s understanding of the value of their vote reduces violence. The large presence of security forces undoubtedly kept the situation under control.
The Electoral Roll Debacle
This record turnout came about in a context. The state recently conducted a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls. This drastic house-cleaning led to the removal of 9.1 million voters. Numerous constituencies saw massive deletions, resulting in alarm among minorities and labourers. This mass deletion directly led to several appeals in the Supreme Court.
Fear Driving the Ballot Box
Political parties’ lawyers had a different theory behind the crowds. Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee suggested that fear was behind the record turnout. Thousands of migrant workers allegedly returned home to cast their vote. They feared that they would be struck off the voter rolls if they missed election day. This fear of citizenship and the right to vote effectively drove people home.
Security Forces Get Their Due
The role of the central armed police forces was significant in this regard. The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, in particular, highlighted their role in the Supreme Court. More than 2,400 companies of central forces were deployed in highly sensitive polling stations. They protected over 8,000 very sensitive polling stations using rigorous surveillance and streaming techniques. Their deployment largely stopped the pre-poll riots which usually occur in these very regions.
The Election Commission Takes a Bow
It is rare that the Election Commission gets praise from the court. Justice Bagchi caught the court by surprise when he expressed his admiration for the poll panel. This certainly irked some politicians who had been lambasting the commission’s moves over the past few days. The election commission was under pressure to oversee the voting process for 3.6 crore electors in one phase. But somehow it all worked in the face of an overwhelming spike in voters.
High Stakes in Key Constituencies
The constituencies that went to vote in this first round are pivotal in the election. In pivotal districts such as Murshidabad, Birbhum, Hooghly and Cooch Behar, there was a high turnout. The highest turnout came in Dakshin Dinajpur where more than 95 percent of voters turned out. These were the hotbeds of high-octane campaigns between the bigwig candidates of the ruling and the opposition parties. Political observers have very little idea of who will win, given the high voter turnout.
Controversy in the Courtroom as Voting Continuencies
The voting may have been peaceful, but the fight over the purged voters continues. Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed special courts to expedite appeals from disenfranchised voters. But there were reports that few of them were able to vote on Thursday. The Court was adamant that it would not offer immediate blanket relief to thousands of polling officers. They held up the right to be on the electoral roll as a valuable ongoing right.
Migrant Math and Local Dynamics
The large-scale inbound movement of workers distorted the anticipated voting patterns. Hundreds of thousands of people have returned from all over the country to central and northern Bengal. This local crowd had diverse political experiences that may not align with local politics. Political analysts have said this demographic change makes it nearly impossible to predict the electoral outcome. The usual anti-incumbency or pro-incumbency calculations do not hold up for this group.
Violence Beneath the Surface
So, while the elections were peaceful in general, there was some violence in rural circles too. In Kumarganj, a candidate had to flee his booth allegedly attacked by a mob. In Murshidabad, a convoy belonging to a local party leader was pelted by unknown persons around a booth. Security forces also had to deal with stone-throwing in Dubrajpur, leading to some jawans being injured. These isolated incidents were a reminder of the region’s political tensions.
