The Election Commission of India’s decision to order re-polling in the entire assembly constituency of Falta is a manifestation of the ‘endemic’ political violence in West Bengal.
Ordering a re-poll for an entire assembly constituency is an extremely rare and drastic measure, but this has been ordered because the “integrity of the recorded votes” was compromised in over 21 per cent of the booths.
Such large-scale ‘intervention’ into the electoral process in the presence of historically the largest numbers of CAPFs and Union government officials, underscores that the violent brigands are not of little means in resources, as well as abilities.
The elections in West Bengal this year has been one of the most peaceful in the state’s history, yet the violent past provided a backdrop, even if only in the form of the BJP raising the spectre of its return in the event of the Trinamool being re-elected.
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