Calcutta Corner

No love, no hope

"Asha chhilo, bhalobasha chhilo…aaj asha nei, bhalobasha nei." (Pronounced in dialectical slang where the 'sh' is mispronounced as 's', it means 'Had hope, had love… today no hope, no love.) The popular lines from a song of a Bengali commercial flick from the eighties is sarcastically spat out by an auto driver when you ask him what he thinks about the state elections which have been taking place in West Bengal in phases since the beginning of this month.

Indeed, as parts of Calcutta went to the polls this week, utter hopelessness seemed to be the overriding sentiment amongst voters. This is the big difference between the state elections taking place now and the one which was held five years ago when people voted Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool into power in the hope that she would bring 'poriborton' or change. "Didi bolechilen 'sonar Bangla' hoey uthbey ei rajjo. Kintu ta holona," (Didi had said that she would usher in a 'golden' Bengal. But that didn't happen), said the three-wheeler driver. The alternatives — a united Congress and Left and BJP — are not exciting him that much he said. "Bhalo sorkarer asha aar korchhina," (Have given up looking for good governance), he says echoing a common refrain amongst today's voters.

Victory at any cost

If hopelessness has been an overriding sentiment these elections, violence has been a defining strategy adopted by pockets of political workers who clearly believe that the only way to retain power in the absence of good governance is by snatching it by force. In the midst of reports of threats to voters that they should stay away from the polling booths unless they want to face physical violence from alleged ruling party musclemen, two CPIM polling agents — Faizal Islam and Dukhiram Dal — were murdered in the former CPIM stronghold Burdwan District. According to Faizal's family, he was warned by local goons not to go to the booth and though initially he had decided not to, later he changed his mind saying, "I have to protect democracy." In the evening, on his way back home, he was apprehended by a group of boys, dragged to a secluded spot and hacked to death. The inconsolable daughter of the polling agent has cried out for justice. Trinamool has denied charges that the party was behind the murder.

The fight to vote without fear

Attacks on Opposition party workers — there are reports for instance that two Congress and Communist workers were shot at and wounded in South 24 Paragana District's Baruipur and several houses of Congress and Communist workers in West Midnapore's Sabang District were thrown bombs at — as well as warning that they should "not dare venture out to cast their votes" have led a group of villagers from West Midnapore to approach the High Court to ensure that they are allowed to vote.

Residents of Chuna Khali Village in Basanti have filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court seeking the "right to vote freely and without fear" during the next phase of elections on April 30. Calling it the "first such instance in the history of Independent India," a civil society member of Calcutta said that "having to take recourse to a court of law to ensure what is constitutionally granted as a right is an indication of that this state is in dire straits." He pointed out, "In a properly-functioning democracy an individual does not need repeat the words — "nijer vote, nijey debo" (I will cast my own vote). It should be a given. But unfortunately in Bengal we have to constantly tell and reassure it to ourselves." But judging by the acts of violence — civil society members have observed that "these acts of violence is a method to create terror so that voters and Opposition party workers and agents would be deterred from coming out to vote and their votes can be cast by political thugs — not everyone believes in the philosophy of "nijer vote, nijey debo".

The silver lining

Is there no good news as far as the Bengal elections are concerned? Of course there is. It has spawned a new generation of political wall graffiti artists, writers and poets whose drawings, rhymes and limericks have suddenly brightened up Calcutta's walls which had grown drab over the past five years with most of them whitewashed and painted in various shades of blue and white. Now the city's walls are canvases in a burst of red, green, saffron and of course blue and white. Moreover, the physical violence of the real ballot battlefield has given way to good-humored punning and pot-shot-taking at political rivals in the war or words on the wall. Sample a few from each party: (A Trinamool graffiti poking fun at the Congress and Left alliance by punning on their respective symbols of the sickle and hand): "Kastey haatey eta ke re? Bhoot hobey erai herey". (Who's that with the sickle in its hand? The losers). A CPIM rhyme taking a dig at Trinamool: "Didi tumi shotti bolo, Madan keno jeley gelo?) (Didi, please tell us the truth…why is Madan — her transport minister who is accused in a scam — in jail?)

Stung and hurting

Samuel Matthews, editor-in-chief of Narada News which has conducted a sting operation allegedly on several of the ruling Trinamool party's top leaders including ministers, MLAs and MPs and caught them on camera accepting wads of cash, held a press conference in Calcutta. There have been conflicting accounts by party spokespeople about what really happened. In the first instance, top leaders dismissed the video footage of the sting operation — which was aired by several television news channels — as "doctored". Next, there were claims that cash was indeed accepted by that it was "a donation" and "not bribe". The journalist clarified during the press conference that the cash was accepted by the party leaders as bribe and not donation.

While education minister Partha Chatterjee, considered a close aide of chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well a party spokesperson, criticized Matthews saying he had no business to call a press conference on the issue when the matter was being decided in court. But in the meantime his own party colleague Mukul Roy has been issuing statements such as this one on twitter: "Doctored/manufactured we still don't know. I know my colleagues for long. They are not the kind who would take money for personal gain." Interestingly, he is one of the top leaders allegedly accepting the offered cash.