Exponential rise in violence in West Bengal, says EC in response to DH editorial

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

(The following is the response of the Election Commission of India to an editorial published in Deccan Herald)

Kindly refer to the editorial titled “Long poll process, too many phases” published in Deccan Herald, Bengaluru on 1.3.2021. With all due regards, there are so many averments/ nuances in the write up, e.g., “the worst feature of the process is the multiplicity of phases without a convincing need for them”, and “Doubts have also been raised over the motives of the Election Commission in deciding on an eight-phase polling in West Bengal. The proffered reason is the possibility of violence during the election” that the EC would like to place the following facts for your consideration especially in the context of West Bengal which has been mentioned more than once in the aforementioned write up:

(a) West Bengal State Assembly Election was conducted in six phases in 2016. However, the first phase was split into 1(a) phase and 1(b) phase hereby in effect making it a seven phase election. In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the election in West Bengal was conducted in seven phases. Since then the level of day to day street violence, hooliganism, even killings attributed to political motives by one political party/entity to the other and vice versa have seen an exponential rise. As per report of National Crime Records Bureau on "Crime in India 2019", at table 2A.2 (p.161), out of 61 murders for ‘political reason’ in the country, highest 12 reported from West Bengal, and it also adds in its footnote (p.161): ‘Due to non-receipt of data from West Bengal in time for 2019, Data furnished for 2018 has been used’.

(b) In 2020, as per reports of MHA, in the state of West Bengal, 663 incidents of political violence were noticed in which 57 persons died and 1314 persons were injured.

(c) Due to Covid restrictions and social distancing norms, numbers of polling stations in West Bengal have gone up from 77,413 to 1,01,916 an increase of 31.65%. It would be appreciated that this enhancement of polling stations entails extra deployment of polling personnel as well as Central Police Forces. As a matter of fact, the number of polling stations in rest of the three states and UT of Puducherry also registered substantial increase (34.71% in Assam; 34.73% in Tamil Nadu; 89.65% in Kerala; and 67.63% in Puducherry). All these require substantial mobilisation of resources including vehicles for polling officials and security personnel.

(d) It has also been mentioned that EC has stretched the polling schedule in case of West Bengal. This is also factually incorrect because this time poll period starting from the date of announcement to date of counting is 66 days; which was 74 days in 2011 elections; and 77 days in 2016 elections in these 5 States/UT of Puducherry.

For a newspaper of the standing of Deccan Herald to say that EC’s decision is seen as a measure to aid the BJP is completely and grossly incorrect. EC is not responsible in increase of crime like street violence, hooliganism and murders, etc. EC has in its possession even more specific district-wise inputs of West Bengal a mention of which was deliberately eschewed during the press conference, so as not to embarrass the Government of West Bengal from a media platform.

In the context of the foregoing, you may publish these facts equally prominently in your newspaper for readers to get a factually correct view.

Sheyphali B Sharan,
Additional Director General (Media),
Election Commission of India