Be it the Assembly elections, the Lok Sabha or the panchayat polls, you name it and the highest common factor is fear, violence and deaths. At least 18 people died across eight districts of West Bengal as the three-tier panchayat elections were marred by widespread violence.
Notwithstanding that violence could take place, the poll panel was initially opposed to the idea of deploying additional forces and was also pulled up by the Calcutta High Court.
It is needless to say that when political violence is witnessed at almost all forms of elections and that too at the micro level, the poll panel’s reported attitude has received widespread criticism.
In the 2018 panchayat polls, 23 people died across Bengal, with 12 of them losing their lives on the day of polling.
Why Violence Breeds? Considered to be the cradle of political power, parties are well aware of the potential of the three-tier structure and the voter connect and consider it to be their route to success. Hence rural polls have always witnessed intense and cut-throat (literally) competition between parties thus leading to clashes and bloodbath which in turn have led to voter intimidation, booth capturing, rigging, and attacks on rival candidates.
Tracking the violent past or the roots to the violence in this cradle of political presence, a flashback is important.
Realising the political potential of these institutions, the Left Front tried and was successful in strengthening its hold on them by providing the panchayats the ‘much-needed’ political influence. Over the years, panchayats became crucial tools for distribution of resources among the needy and the poor and thus an equation development between the ‘powerful’ and the ones at the end of the supply chain.
However, with the enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in the 1990s, more power and resources were allocated to the panchayats thus making them veritable grounds for political parties to plough on and this also meant establishing supremacy at the panchayat and zilla levels would eventually make the parties invincible, especially at the grassroots level and in the ‘big picture’ level, this strength would mean a lot for the bigger forms of polls... which in simplified terms meant that support at the grassroots level(s) would be a catalyst for the party in power to quite easily make it to the top.
Scientific Rigging: Talking of the past, it has been evident that in order to maintain dominance over the panchayats, the Left cadres resorted to violence against their rivals and intimidation, which in political parlance was known as ‘scientific rigging’, during panchayat-level polls also. Unfortunately, whenever a party in Bengal won elections, it attacked and sought revenge on the workers of the defeated or weaker party or parties.
During the early 2000s, clashes between the ruling CPI(M) and the main Opposition TMC, increased creating widespread political tremors. And as they say, history repeats itself, when the TMC came to power, its workers retaliated and targeted CPI(M) workers. With change in time and the emergence of the BJP in the state and its challenge to the TMC’s dominance resulted in clashes between TMC and the saffron party workers right from the grassroots levels to the top.
There are several reasons which contribute to the culture of violence and it is an 1attempt to decode the same. Panchayats control the rural economy and 70 per cent of the state’s population considering the demography. With decentralisation of power and introduction of the panchayati-raj system, panchayats have over the decades gained immense political and economic power. They receive substantial funds from central and state allocations for welfare schemes and finance commission allotments.
Funds allocated for schemes such as MNREGS, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, and rural electrification, create a loyal group of beneficiaries and obviously a committed vote bank. Although direct bank transfers to beneficiaries have bypassed the role of panchayats in the case of central schemes, they still play a crucial role in determining who would be the beneficiaries.
Another reason that has driven the fierce fight for panchayat seats is the control they offer over politics at the grassroots level. The stakes at these levels are very high and candidates, it is alleged, have to spend vast sums of money to have an impact during election campaigns. Panchayat-level politics and votes in these polls become crucial eventually during the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
The culture of violence in panchayat polls has been there no matter which party has been in power. Statistics from the last two panchayat elections under TMC rule show that 39 people died in 2013 and 29 people died in 2018 due to poll-related violence. In 2018, 34 per cent of panchayat poll seats went uncontested, allegedly due to the atmosphere of fear created among opposition candidates.
The stats under the CPI(M) government were even worse. About 70 people were killed in 2003. The toll was 36 deaths in 2008.
If a panchayat can show social control, a voter will be forced not to support another party because by doing so he/she would sever the link between the panchayat and the state.
Script Same, Actors Change: However, this doesn’t mean things will remain constant. As they say only change is permanent, and hence despite being in control for over 34 years, Left lost the panchayats first as a result of the unrest in Nandigram and Singur and then the Left was defeated hollow in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls.
Scarcity of opportunities, rising unemployment is used as tools to woo the young brigade to influence, terrorise and intimidate voters. And when politics becomes a wholesome livelihood, netas(leaders), in order to keep their young force in order, spend their money and resources to win over voters and this then becomes a regular affair till another political upheaval happens to usher in another party but the script and the players keep changing their jerseys quite easily as politics is a game of strange bedfellows.
Political violence, unfortunately seems to be an unwanted legacy. If there were frequent clashes between CPI(M) cadres and Congress workers in the seventies and eighties, by the end of the nineties, the Congress took a back seat and the TMC began emerging as a main Opposition force.
How can one forget Nandigram after 14 people were killed during clashes between CPI(M) and TMC supporters in 2007. This had catapulted Mamata and her TMC to become a major force to reckon with.
(Writer is senior journalist and former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo, Goa)