The voting of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections has been completed and in this seven-phase election, there is a 3-phase voting and the rest. Voting has been done in 18 of the 42 seats in West Bengal in the last four phases and four times the people of the state have voted out of their homes in a large number. The incidents of violence have also been consistent among the bumper voting in Bengal. Despite this, it has proved to be a failure in reducing the enthusiasm of its voters.
In West Bengal, the voting percentage is much higher and if you talk about the last two Lok Sabha elections, then the highest number of votes is compared to the other states in the country. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 81.40 per cent of the votes were cast in Bengal and in the 2014 Modi wave, the people used 82.17 per cent of the population to exercise their franchise. Bengal’s bumper voting shows that the cadre of different parties stands firmly with their leaders here. Fierce heat and incidents of violence are also inadequate to break the morale of the people of Bengal.
Bumper Voting and More Violence
In the first phase, 81 percent voting took place in Bengal’s two seats, and 81.68 percent of the votes in the second phase were 81.68 percent. Apart from this, in the third phase 79.36 voting took place in 5 seats, and in the fourth phase on Monday, 8 seats of the state were cast. In this fourth phase, 76.66 voters of Bengal voted in favor of their own party. Nearly 80 per cent of the state’s voting has been done in the elections so far.
In the last four phases, incidents of violence were also seen from different areas of the province. In the fourth phase, there was a clash between BJP-TMC and BJP supporters in the BJP-held Asansol seat. Even the Union Minister and BJP MP Babul Supriyo has been lodged for FIR. Both the TMC and the BJP have lodged a complaint against each other in the Election Commission between the fourth phase voting.
On the other hand, incidents of fury have also emerged from Virbhum district. Earlier, in the third phase, there was an attack in Islampur during the vote on CPM MP Mohammad Salim’s Kafil. Here the history of electoral violence is old, the recently concluded body elections proved to be the biggest example.
Bengal is no less than any litmus test for the Modi Government in power with the full majority in the last Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have kept a watch on Bengal itself. The party claims that this time in the state, they will get much more seats than before.
There are 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal and last time TMC won 36 seats here. Apart from this, the Congress was reduced to just 4 and Left 2 seats. BJP then got 2 seats but in this election the party has set a target of winning more than 20 seats. After getting power in the BJP, BJP defeated Tripura’s oldest stronghold of Left and made history by winning the assembly elections alone. Now BJP’s focus is on states like Odisha and Bengal, where regional parties are dominating.
Modi Vs Mamta
The political war between Modi and Mamta is not hidden from anyone. If a leader is known for the most intense attack on the government sitting in the center then his name is Mamta Banerjee. In 2014, BJP got only two Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, but the party has strengthened its organization here in the last 5 years. The result is that in the BJP state, number four from the number four is formed in Bengal. At the same time, the issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators or the NRC has swung the swords between the two parties on all such issues.
However, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee does not want to give any space for the BJP in Bengal. This is the reason why the workers of both parties go to vote with the intention of strengthening their leader and witnessing their passion towards the party that it becomes a voting percentage.
It is also being said that the BJP has selected Bengal-Odisha to compensate the loss caused by states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. In all these states, BJP got immense support and seats in the 2014 elections, but this time it would be challenging to double it. In such a way, BJP’s strategy is that in these states if there is a loss of seats then it can be compensated by performing better in a state like Bengal. For this, clear messages have also been given to the workers.
