Heat Of Democracy
Calcutta may not be all that happening – though that is debatable – it is most definitely hot. And one is not just talking about the weather, which to make an understatement, had reached boiling point so to speak in the last few days with temperatures soaring as high as 42 degrees Celcius and in the process breaking a decade-old record. But more than the heat wave (it was officially declared to be one by the Met office), it is the election fever running through the city and the rest of the state that is the point to note. In the first three phases of the five in which Bengal votes during these general elections, it has recorded the highest voter turnout in the country oscillating between 80 to 82 percent. In fact Central Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi said that the polling percentage in Bengal is expected to reach an all time high of 83 percent. Now, that is hot.