ECI assures parties of zero tolerance toward violence in Bengal polls

In Kolkata, the Election Commission’s full bench held meetings with political parties. While the BJP, the Left parties and the Congress largely converged on the need to restrict the election to two phases, but the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised concerns over voter disenfranchisement.The party said it had made it clear before the Commission that no citizen should be deprived of their right to vote. The Election Commission’s full bench began consultations with recognised political parties on Monday morning at a five-star hotel in New Town. The Commission held discussions with representatives of eight recognised political parties. It will also hold talks with the state Chief Secretary, DGP, DMs and SPs over poll preparation. The Commission assured political parties that it would adopt a “zero tolerance” approach towards violence in the upcoming elections in West Bengal. The meeting, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, was attended by the state’s Chief Electoral Officer and senior officials of the Commission.
West Bengal minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, who attended the discussions along with Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya and former state Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar-turned-TMC member, said the party had raised strong objections to the Election Commission’s approach. Hakim said the TMC had urged the Commission to ensure that legitimate voters are not excluded from the electoral process.
Representatives of the BJP and the Left argued that the election should be conducted in one phase or at the most two, while the Congress said it would prefer the entire election to be held in a single phase. Opposition parties maintained that a multi-phase election tends to benefit the ruling party by allowing it to deploy organisational and political resources strategically across the phases. The BJP delegation comprising Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Tapas Roy and Shishir Bajoria met the Commission first. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Bajoria said the party had placed a 16-point charter of demands before Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim said the election should ideally be conducted in a single phase. “The election should be held in one phase, or at most two. Otherwise, TMC goons and criminals will spread violence,” Salim said. He also criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral rolls, claiming that officials involved in the exercise had made serious errors.The Congress, for its part, indicated that it would welcome a single-phase election, but stressed that peace and security must be guaranteed.