Bengal Panchayat Polls: Left Front Rally to Protest Bhangore Violence, Killing of 3 ISF Workers.

Kolkata: On Tuesday, at around 8.30 p.m, counting for the Bhangore 82 no seat ended, showing ISF (Indian Secular Front, a Left Front ally) candidate Jahanara Bibi winning by a margin of 1,700 votes. Her supporters began celebrations while coming out of the counting hall, even as she was asked to wait to get her victory certificate. She kept waiting and waiting. Meanwhile, the Block Development Officer (BDO) was seen talking with Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Arabul Islam, her supporters said.

 By then, it was midnight. Suddenly, the BDO came out and declared the TMC candidate as the winner. Hearing this sudden turnaround by the BDO, some ISF activists started a dharna before the counting centre. Around 1 o’clock, some alleged TMC activists walked in in police uniform and started throwing out the ISF protesters, it is alleged.  After that, the police and TMC activists charged toward the protesting ISF activists, say local reports. Amid the clash and mayhem, three ISF activists -- Rejaul Gaji, Hasan Mollah and Raju Mollah  -- died on the spot after being shot in the head, allegedly by the police.  

Reports said some TMC men also shot at a senior police functionary who received bullet injuries. Later, the police ‘vandalised’ the houses of over 50 ISF and CPI(M) activists at Bhangore 2 number block,  Mosharaf Hossain, a  witness to the entire chain of events, told reporters.

On Thursday, the Left Front called for a mega rally in Kolkata to protest against “mass murder and vote loot” by TMC at Bhangore, leading to the loss of three innocent lives.

Talking with Newsclick, Shamik Lahiri, CPI(M) Central Committee member and South 24 Parganas district secretary, said that from the time the nomination process started in Bhangore, block 1 was out of bounds for the Opposition. The candidates were unable to submit their nominations as BDO office was encircled by arms-wielding TMC men right before the eyes of the police.

Lahir said in Bhangore block 2 also the TMC tried to intimidate candidates during the nomination process, however, the Left and ISF activists managed to chase the TMC men away and submit their nominations. He claimed that even at that time, TMC men had opened fire and three persons had lost their lives.

However, the Election Commission cancelled 82 nominations filed by ISF candidates and 19 nominations by CPI(M), acting in a “partisan manner”, Lahiri said, adding that during the election campaign the police had “inflicted unimaginable terror” in the area and arrested about 335 ISF and CPI(M) activists. Several ISF and Left activists had to take shelter in the paddy fields at night to avoid arrest.

On the other side, armed TMC men entered the villages and threatened the residents of dire consequences if they voted for ISF or CPI(M), he alleged. During election day, on July 8, a total of 65 out 71 booths of 81 number seat where history -sheeter Arabul Islam’s son was the candidate, were taken over by TMC men, with the help of the police, Lahiri alleged. It was only after voting ended at around 5.30 p.m, that the Election Commission sent Central forces to the Bhangore 2 block.

In seat numbers 82 and 83, the TMC “hooligans” had to retreat on the voting day after facing resistance and in both these seats, ISF candidates took the lead. However, local people alleged that the BDO succumbed to Arabul Islam’s pressure and declared the TMC candidate as winner in 82 number seat of the zilla parishad.

Islam himself was a candidate in the panchayat samiti level and lost to the ISF candidate, however, he delayed his stay at the counting centre even after the election results were negative “forced” the BDO to declare the losing candidates as winners, it was alleged.