The Hindu : Putting down political violence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Opinion

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Putting down political violence

CONFIRMING THE WORST fears, the panchayat poll in West Bengal turned out to be extremely violent climaxing a bloody run-up of physical clashes among different political parties. Despite the early alarm bells of the campaign period, the CPI (M)-led Left Front Government did not quite rise to the challenge posed by political violence. Allegations of electoral irregularities began from the nominations-filing stage. And right into the election day, CPI (M) workers, time and again, battled not only those belonging to the Opposition parties — the Congress and the Trinamool Congress — but also those belonging to allies such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Even though the violence did not extend beyond five districts, and polling in the other 12 districts was mostly peaceful, the Government must still take the blame for the failure to rein in the unruly elements, especially those of the CPI (M). All the same, the fact that CPI (M) workers too were among the victims of violence supports the argument of the Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, that all parties must exercise restraint to ensure peaceful elections. Both during the run-up, and on the election day, the CPI (M) accounted for about half the number of people killed in political violence. Indeed, a CPI (M) local leader, Basudev Bhakat, who was allegedly kidnapped by members of the Jharkhand Party, was fatally attacked on the election day.

The violence of the panchayat poll looks certain to politically damage the Left Front. Not surprisingly, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Bannerjee demanded the resignation of the Buddhadeb Government claiming that the violence-marred election was a farce. The BJP did not go as far as that, but wanted a fresh election. And the Congress suggested repolling in the violence-affected booths. In the event, repoll was ordered in 86 booths following complaints of irregularities and violence. But the opposition charges of foul play are not restricted to the polling day incidents. The CPI(M) won an unusually high percentage of panchayat seats without a contest, which was apparently made possible by the use of intimidatory tactics by party workers. The high-voltage campaign was therefore marked by political hatred. There was a consistent build-up of tension as the election day drew near. For the CPI(M), the embarrassment was more because of the clashes between party workers and members of the RSP, a constituent of the Government. Indeed, the Public Works Department Minister, Amar Chowdhury, of the RSP, was attacked by CPI(M) cadre. And Mr. Chowdhury said so publicly. Such incidents created a dent in the credibility of the Left Front.

All this proves that the stakes were high for all the political parties during the current election. Or at least, for the workers of all the political parties. Ironically, it is elections to the lower tiers that are being increasingly marred by violence. Though Assembly and Lok Sabha polls have higher stakes, the empowerment of the local bodies in the last decade seems to have generated keen competition at the level of grassroots workers. Unlike in the elections to the Assembly or the Lok Sabha, the workers have direct stakes in the elections to the local bodies. This is truer of West Bengal where sufficient powers have been devolved to the local bodies. A zilla parishad could control crores of rupees for spending on rural development schemes including those funded by the Centre. But rather than pass off violence as the price of democracy, Governments and political parties must take care to guarantee that people's participation in the democratic process is not undermined by the might of the muscle. And for that to happen, the issue of criminalisation of politics needs to be addressed far more seriously.

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