A war of words has broken out between the BJP and the Trinamul Congress over paramilitary forces in three Assembly segments where bypolls will be held on Monday.
Byelections will be held in Karimpur (Nadia district), Kharagpur Sadar (West Midnapore) and Kaliaganj (North Dinajpur).
The three constituencies are witnessing triangular contest involving Trinamul, BJP and the Left-Congress combine. But the main fight is between the ruling parties in the state and at the Centre.
This is the first time the two parties are in an electoral battle after the Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP bagged 18 of 42 seats in Bengal.
On the eve of the voting, the Election Commission of India came under attack from Trinamul and the BJP over deployment of central forces.
In Karimpur, 90 per cent of the 261 polling stations will be manned by central armed police forces (CAPF) as opposed to 70 per cent and 43 per cent in Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj, respectively (see chart).
“Such large difference in the CAPF deployment is a clear indication of how the poll panel is functioning. It appears that the commission has been trying to satisfy a particular political party,” a Trinamul leader in Karimpur said.
According to Trinamul’s internal calculations, Karimpur that fell vacant following Trinamul MLA Mahua Moitra’s win from Krishnagar Lok Sabh seat is a safe bet. But the party feels the contest is tough in Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj, which were won by the BJP and the Congress in the 2016 Assembly polls.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was ahead of Trinamul in both the Assembly segments.
Responding to Trinamul’s jibe on security, Bengal BJP vice-president and the party’s Karimpur candidate Jay Prakash Majumdar said: “The constituency has a large stretch of international border, which is porous and infamous for infiltration and criminal activities. It also shares the district border with Murshidabad. We apprehended hooligans would infiltrate and create trouble on the polling day. The commission has most probably realised it and increased the CAPF deployment”.
Amid the BJP-Trinamul war of words over the deployment of central forces, the Nadia district administration urged the BSF to intensify vigil along the international border to prevent any foul play by outsiders in Karimpur.
The BJP was unhappy with deployment of forces in the two other constituencies. A BJP delegation led by state leader Shishir Bajoria went to the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Sunday and demanded immediate deployment of CAPF at all polling booths in the three Assembly constituencies.
“Despite listing the commission with sensitive booths in all three constituencies, arrangements to send CAPF to all polling stations were not made, which would mean the voting would be reduced to a farce and nothing more,” Bajoria said after coming out of the CEO’s office in Calcutta.
Trinamul’s West Midnapur district president Ajit Maiti, however, said: “We don’t depend on police to get votes. Deployment of forces is an administrative matter. We are not concerned about the state police or the CAPF. We hope people will vote for us”.
Tension broke out in several areas of Kaliaganj constituency on Sunday morning over an opinion poll, which was circulating widely in social media, predicting Trinamul victory. North Dinajpur BJP leadership demanded the cancellation of Trinamul nominee Tapan Deb Singha’s candidature, accusing him of circulating it.
Biswajit Lahiri, a general secretary of North Dinajpur district BJP, said: “Apprehending unavoidable defeat, the Trinamul candidate tried to misled voters using the fake opinion poll and creating an impression that they would win”.
Additional reporting by Anshuman Phadikar and Kousik Sen
