Bizarre Condition of Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal: Election Commission lost

Indeed, how bizarre our West Bengal is! But the Supreme Court has made it clear that anarchy cannot continue. Moreover, the Centre may deploy forces in Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision to protect booth-level officers. The Election Commission did not file this case. Instead, the Sanatani Sangsad filed it. For now, the case is only about one FIR. Meanwhile, the Election Commission faced criticism for not approaching the court. Ultimately Election Commission lost in the first round

TMC in Action

The protesters surrounded the Election Commissioner and the CEO’s office for 48 hours. Even after that, demonstrations still continue. News reports say that informing Lalbazar or the Police Commissioner did not help. The police remain virtually inactive. It’s worth mentioning, the TMC party members or supports are playing the pivotal roles in such demonstrations or protests.  Meanwhile, booth-level officers have been facing threats and intimidation for a long time. , When the Election Commission lost, it has appointed 12 observers. But again, it seems Gyanesh Kumar still could not comprehend West Bengal properly. Perhaps he did not know about the strong unholy nexus between the administration and political party (TMC) that operates here.

So far, reports indicate that the SIR process has excluded about 55 lakh names. Moreover, the process removed a large portion after the observers took charge. Since Mamata Banerjee has mostly succeeded in creating a zero-opposition political environment, the opposition could not appoint booth-level agents in many places. Of course, this also exposes their organizational weakness.

However, the reality is that the Trinamool Congress led the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision and Election Commission lost. And in the next stage, the BDOs will take charge. Most of them work in favor of Trinamool. This means the ruling party’s lead will grow further during the upcoming hearings and verification process. Moreover, it is impossible for the Election Commission to appoint one observer in every location.

Election Commission Lost: The Operational Hazards

We need to look at the system for a moment. The Election Commissioner has no officers of his own. He has to take officers from the state government. And state government employees usually remain loyal to the ruling party. That is the fundamental reason why the Election Commission lost.

Today, the CEO Manoj Agarwal is also a state-cadre officer. The state government itself recommended his name. From lower officials to top officials, everyone belongs to the state government. Moreover, Mamata Banerjee has already warned them by saying, “The Election Commission may exist today, but they will not exist tomorrow. But we will remain.”

Thus, the underlying message was crystal clear that officers must conduct this Special Intensive Revision by following her party’s rules and instructions.

When the party chief Mamata Banerjee says such things openly, Trinamool workers at every level become fearless. As a result, they do not hesitate to intimidate booth-level officers. They even threaten their families.

Reports reveal that some TMC local canon fodders forced booth-level officers to promise not to reveal anything. They had to face threats about their lives and family members. Moreover, these officers must continue living in the same area with their families and keep doing their jobs, which increases the pressure even more.

As a result, we have witnessed the magical change in the exclusion figures.

Election Commission: Delayed Action

Had the Election Commission taken these steps from the very beginning, today’s situation might not have arisen. The election commission lost and they realize at the point, when  the work on the enumeration forms is almost complete. Unfortunately, in our state, the opposition could not stay beside the Trinamool booth-level agents. If they had built a parallel resistance, we might not have seen such a one-sided voter list.

But the Election Commission woke up far too late. Therefore, West Bengal completed the Special Intensive Revision, but sadly, the state still could not get a legally transparent voter list.