The first business of new the Assembly—election of the new Speaker—was held under a cloud of confrontation that was indicative of the mood and tone of Bengal’s politics likely to hold for the next five years.
On Saturday, Biman Banerjee was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the state Assembly for the third term, with the main Opposition BJP staying away from the proceedings to protest post-poll violence in the state. Out of 294 Assembly seats, elections were held in 292 with Trinamul winning 213 seats and the BJP 77.
Taking a dig at the BJP’s stance, chief minister Mamata Banerjee told the House that for most of the Opposition MLAs victory was courtesy the Election Commission of India. "The people have boycotted them (Opposition MLAs). Without the EC’s help they could not have won 30 seats,” she said.
During the run up to the Assembly elections, Mamata had called out the central poll panel for its bias in favour of the ruling BJP at the Centre and facilitating its victory in the state. The decision to stagger voting to eight phases despite a raging pandemic was seen as a strategy to allow top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to campaign extensively in the state.
“It is the election commission’s role to stop rigging of votes. From the time of T.N. Seshan we have known that is the EC’s job. Now it has been reversed. In some places, rigging was carried out with the help of the EC. This is shameful. I have been fighting for free and fair elections since 1995. Three retired officers, nominated to oversee the elections are allowed to transfer serving officers with instructions on a chit. This way democracy cannot be saved,” Mamata said.
Mamata said with the BJP’s mission to wrest the state in 2021 falling to pieces, the party was trying to create trouble and continuously disturb the state government.
“In less than 24-hours since the government took oath they have started disturbing us. Central teams have been deputed. BJP is unable to accept this mandate,” she said. “We have found that 99 per cent of the videos of violence in the state are fake. Yesterday, someone informed me about a woman who had received rape threats. The police went and spoke with the girl she denied everything.”
Taking the attack to the BJP’s door, Mamata questioned the decision to carry on with the Central Vista project while people were succumbing to Covid.
“To vaccinate 1.40 crore people, around Rs 30 crore is required. This is no big amount for the Centre. But they can spend Rs 50,000crore on the Central Vista, new aircraft, statue, and not vaccines. The need for the day is universal vaccination,” she said.
The chief minister claimed the 2021 Bengal Assembly poll verdict was unparalleled. “No government has ever come to power with such a huge mandate. On an average, a Trinamul MLA has won by over 31,000 votes. No other Assembly has this kind of a record. This is a miracle. Women and the youth have voted for us,” she said. “Even Covid patients stood in the queue to cast their votes for us.”
This time, the number of women legislators has dropped from 41 in 2016 to 40. About 14 per cent of the lawmakers in Bengal are in the age group of 25-40.
Mamata has instructed Trinamul MLAs to stay vigilant in their respective and foil any attempts to create disturbance. “If anyone tries to create any trouble alert the police. Their only politics is to spread communalism. They tried it during the campaign, and they are trying to do it now after the polls.”
