A Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was killed at Basanti in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. Jiaur Mollah was shot late on Saturday evening when he was returning to his home. His family members, including his daughter who is contesting the panchayat polls, alleged that the party’s rival faction was behind the murder.
“My father was associated with ‘Yuva’ [youth faction of the party]. Those from the ‘Mother’ faction of the party were threatening him saying that I should withdraw my candidature. We have approached the police but they did not intervene,” the daughter said. The ‘Mother’ faction of TMC refers to the group of leaders who have been associated with the party since its inception and “yuva” to new entrants of the ruling party.
While factional violence within the TCM is a common phenomenon in West Bengal politics, the murder of an influential leader from Basanti allegedly by a rival group is a cause of concern for the ruling party. The murder comes less than a week ahead of polling for the three-tier panchayat polls scheduled on July 9. With the death of Molla, the number of those killed ever since rural polls were notified has increased to 13. Majority of those killed were supporters of the TMC. Workers of the Congress, the CPI(M), the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) have also lost their lives.
Violence in many places
Meanwhile, violence erupted at several places in the State on the last Sunday before the polls. Clashes between supporters of the TMC and the ISF were reported at Chandrakona in Paschim Medinipur district. Metli in State’s Jalpaiguri district erupted in violence as TMC supporters clashed with activists of the CPI(M). Supporters of the BJP and the TMC clashed at Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. A crude bomb explosion occurred at Shamsherganj in Murshidabad district in the house of a relative of a Congress worker.
Governor C. V. Ananda Bose who was in north Bengal met injured TMC workers at a health facility in Cooch Behar. On Sunday, the Governor also spoke to the family members of Molla. The ruling TMC has been alleging that the Governor was only reaching out to the supporters of the Opposition. Over the past few days, the Governor had visited violence-affected Bhangar and Canning in South 24 Parganas in south Bengal and Cooch Behar in north Bengal.
During campaigning for the rural polls, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee urged the people not to vote for independents. A large number of TMC candidates are contesting as independents.
With five days left for the polling, there remains little clarity on the deployment of Central forces. An order of the State Election Commission on June 30 had not specified whether the Central forces will be deployed in the polling booths or not. Of the 822 companies of Central forces that need to be deployed in accordance with the order of Calcutta High Court, so far, the Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed on deployment of 315 companies.