Now, FIR against Mamata Banerjee in Cooch Behar
New Delhi/Kolkata:
The on-going assembly elections in West Bengal are definitely witness to some unprecedented happenings and high-voltage dramas. Now, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is at the receiving end.
It's Action Time: It's Bengal
An FIR has been lodged against Mamata at Mathabhanga police station station in Cooch Behar, the north Bengal district which has experienced violence including opening of fire by CISF personnel on poll duty. Five people - four Muslims and one Rajbonhsgi BJP worker were killed on April 10 on the polling day in the constituency.
In the FIR filed by Siddique Mia Ali, a local BJP's minority cell leader, it has been alleged that Trinamool Congress supremo had 'instigated voters' to gherao central forces and that, in turn, led to the incident of firing in Sitalkuchi.
Siddique produced a video footage and cited the TMC supremo's comments during a rally in Banerswar area.
"The said villagers including women launched an attack upon the paramilitary forces with the intention of causing bodily injury, knowing it to be likely to cause death of the deployed paramilitary forces," he wrote in the FIR.
"Mamata Banerjee is solely responsible for the death of those four people. She is answerable," the BJP leader has said.
The Election Commission had suspended the voting exercise at the booth following the incident.
EC also said, "The joint report of the two special observers has been received ... wherein they interalia stated that recourse to open fire by the CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save the lives of the voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as the mob had attempted snatching their weapons."
It is worth mentioning that even the poll panel had taken exception to Mamata's appeal to 'women voters'to gherao central forces, and had even slapped a 24-hour ban on her campaigning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged that Mamata Banerjee’s had hatched a “master plan” to rig the polls on April 10.
“Friends, facing her own defeat, now Didi (Mamata) has a new war strategy. It is Didi’s conspiracy by which the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC…nobody will be allowed to vote.
It is her conspiracy that people from these groups are stopped from voting and her goons cast false votes. (It is) openly being said that Trinamool people will ‘gherao’ central forces and other supporters of Didi will enter (the booth) and cast false votes," the Prime Minister had said in a poll rally at Kalyani on April 12.
He also said: "Rumours are that what happened in Cooch Behar was a part of Didi’s false-vote master plan".
ends
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| Media: Drama by Dharna 2019 |
## Caste has been brought into West Bengal elections 'very smartly' by the BJP, which otherwise is known for pushing pro-Hindutva politics.
## All elections and all phases of polling are important in a fierce battle as we are witnessed to between Trinamool Congress and BJP; but the focus now moves to fifth phase of polling on Saturday, April 17 - as in these 45 assembly segments, the BJP's growth has been phenomenal.
Among the 45 assembly constituencies that vote on April 17, are the segments where the BJP had 'outsmarted' its onetime ally and now a bitter rival. The BJP had secured 45 per cent of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election while Trinamool had to remain contented with only 41.5 percent votes. Of course in number of seats, Mamata Banerjee's outfit had won 23 and the BJP remaining 22.
Notably, the Koch-Rajbanshi community is the largest scheduled caste group and can easily influence outcome in 22 assembly seats.
So, the big picture take away is - what really remains to be seen whether the BJP has retained its hold on the voters of West Bengal - where the party had faced numerous kinds of organisational issues.
Some of these constituencies are Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri, Rajganj, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Ranaghat, Ranaghat Dakshin, Kalyani, Dum Dum, Bidhannagar, Madhyamgram, Barasat and Basirhat Dakshin.
'SC or the Dalit vote' is important in West Bengal polls. The BJP has identified groups by Koch-Rajbongshis, Namasudras and Matuas.
No less than, BJP national president, J P Nadda, has said, “I feel sad that Mamata di, who has been the Chief Minister for 10 years, has not spoken a word to condemn one Trinamool leader's remarks against Dalit. This is her anti-Dalit politics, we should understand".
The reference is to Trinamool leader Sujata Mondal Khan’s alleged derogatory comments.
A BJP delegation led by Dushyant Gautam, party general secretary, has urged the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, has accused that Trinamool leader Sujata Mondal Khan, has said that some Scheduled Castes people are 'beggars by nature'.
Among others in the race, actor-turned- neta and state cabinet minister Bratya Basu, film star turned MLA Chiranjeet and former minister Madan Mitra are among the high profile Trinaool candidates.
In Dumdum, voters would decide the fate of Trinamool Congress leader Bratya Basu. In Barasat, Actor Deepak Chakraborty, popularly known as Chiranjeet, is contesting as the TMC nominee. Another popular Trinamool leader Madan Mitra, who often hit headlines for wrong reasons including Saradha Scam, has been made candidate by Mamata Banerjee for the Kamarhati seat.
Fates of candidates and several stalwarts including Mamata Banerjee herself has been already decided. Elections are over in 135 of the 294 assembly seats. While 45 segments would elect their representative on Saturday, the polling in remaining 114 seats would be decided in three remaining phases.
Officials said security have been beefed up for Saturday's polls as during the April 10 polling, five people lost their lives in Cooch Behar district in north Bengal, and of them four died in firing by central security forces. A big time row has been triggered since then with BJP leaders blaming Trinamool goons for the happening, while Trinamool has tried to direct its tirade against the central forces.
On Wednesday and Thursday, a video has gone viral in social and electronic media that shows the CISF personnel had to open fire after 'goons' had attacked the polling booth and banged the doors.
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