With trends pointing at Trinamool victory in rural polls, clamour grows in party against poll violence

Kolkata: With counting trends on Tuesday pointing at a thumping victory for Trinamool Congress in the panchayat elections in West Bengal, several ruling party heavyweights, including two ministers, have become vocal over the violence and bloodbath witnessed during the polling process.

According to Tourism Minister Babul Supriyo, the violence was not necessary to ensure the party's victory as Trinamool would have won with ease anyway.

“It is true that there was tension in a limited number of booths. But if violence in a few areas resulted in the loss of around 40 lives, of course it is a cause of embarrassment and shame. Our grassroots-level workers should understand that the people of West Bengal are generally happy with the development projects launched by the state government. So there was no need to create such a situation. They are in fact providing oxygen to the opposition through such actions,” said the singer-turned-politician.

Udayan Guha, Minister for North Bengal Development, expressed doubt if violence-free polls will ever be possible in West Bengal.

“Nobody wants violence during elections. But I doubt if I would ever see violence-free elections in my lifetime,” Guha said.

Actor-turned politician and three-time Trinamool MLA Chiranjit Chakraborty said if victories are achieved through violence, they do not reflect the confidence of the people on the victor.

“Such victories are pointless. It is impossible to stick to power for a long time through such actions if the common people ultimately revolt silently,” he said.

Senior-most party legislator Abdul Karim Chowdhury questioned what his party has achieved through this victory when so many lives have been lost.

“Does the victory reflect public confidence? It is a dangerous trend that the ruling party is depending more on violence rather than on support of the people,” Chowdhury said.