8 NO. OF CONSTITUENCIES NO. OF VOTERS 9

Kolkata Saturday May 7, 2011
www.thebengalpost.com 3
BATTLE FOR WRITERS’
BENGAL
ELECTION 2011
CPM plan to help Jangalmahal voters tide over fear
Biswajit Bhattacharya
Jhargram: The CPI(M) is in the
process of drawing up a master
plan to ensure that thousands of its
supporters in Jangalmahal — who
recently returned home in the
Maoist-affected areas of Salboni,
Chandabila, Nayagram,
Gopiballabhpur, Binpur and
Jhargram under police protection
— can get to cast their vote in the
sixth phase on May 10.
The last phase of polling would
cover 14 seats spread across
Jangalmahal. The plan has been
chalked out as senior CPI(M) leaders
are apprehending that the
Opposition would try to scare its
voters away.
These CPI(M) supporters had
fled the area in the face of Maoist
insurgency, which assumed alarming
proportions following the Lok
Sabha election in 2009. The
Election Commission (EC) has
asked the police to provide protection
to them so that they can at
least exercise their franchise.
Now that its supporters have
returned, the CPI(M) is hell-bent
on ensuring that not a single vote
is wasted in the election, considered
the toughest electoral battle
to date for the ruling Left Front.
As part of the plan, the CPI(M)
candidates of four Assembly constituencies
have been told that
they would have to ensure that the
voters make it to the booths, come
what may. The four candidates —
Amar Basu of Jhargram, Dibakar
Hansda of Binpur, Bhutnath Soren
of Nayagram and Rabilal Maitra of
Gopiballabhpur — have been asked
to keep a close watch on the movements
of voters since early morn-
Solve your own ailments,
Buddhadeb advises PC
What is he doing
for Kashmir and
other Maoist-hit
states? Instead
of playing a
doctor here, he
should concentrate
on those
places, the CM
says about the
home minister
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: Chief minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee on Friday hit back at
home minister P Chidambaram asking
him to take care of the rest of the country
instead of just pointing a finger at
West Bengal.
The battle of words between the
two, which had begun after the Netai
killings of January 7 and the ensuing
exchange of official letters, turned
fierce during Chidambaram’s visit to
Garbeta in West Midnapore on a campaign
trail for the Congress-Trinamool
Congress alliance on April 25. The minister
had termed Bengal the “worst
governed” state in the country.
With 14 constituencies in
Jangalmahal, including the Maoistaffected
parts of West Midnapore,
Purulia and Bankura, going to the polls
on May 10 in the sixth phase of the
Assembly election, the chief minister
chose to return the favour.
In a tone of underhand sarcasm,
Bhattacharjee urged the home minister
to be “a doctor and solve his own
ailments” (problems in other parts of
� Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee addresses a press conference at
Alimuddin Street on Friday — Debabraota Biswas
the country) instead of just looking to
instruct the state.
“Please tell him not to pose as a doctor.
We do not need his advice in running
the state’s administration,” the
chief minister said, while addressing
journalists at the CPI(M) state committee
headquarters at Allimuddin Street.
Bhattacharjee said: “What is he
doing for Kashmir and the other
Maoist-hit states, like Andhra
Pradesh? Instead of playing a doctor
here, he should concentrate on those
places. I will request him to concentrate
on his job because I know what
my job is.”
Bhattacharjee’s demeanor rekindled
the memories of Chidambaram’s
attack on the Left Front government
during his public addresses at Caning
in South 24-Parganas and Garbeta in
West Midnapore. While the Union
home minister had warned that the
Centre was keeping an eye on the
state’s law and order situation, he had
expressed his shock at how the situation
in the state had been in a mess.
He had pointed out how the likes of
Sushanta Ghosh, CPI(M) leader and
minister for Paschimanchal development
affairs, were spreading terror in
the area before the poll.
But Bhattacharjee said “The Netai
incident had no connection as such
with the polling in the Maoist-affected
areas. “But, we have learnt a lesson
from the incident at Netai as well as at
Singur and Nandigram.”
Chidambaram had also lashed out at
the state’s paradigm of development.
But Bhattacharjee said whatever
funds the state received from the
Centre was its due payment. “They did
not do any favour to us. Government
employees are getting their salaries
properly and they do not believe in the
Opposition’s false campaign,” he said.
He also refuted Chidambaram’s
claim that the CM had never visited a
police station and had to visit a police
station in Jangalmahal to reopen it
after being left locked for days. “I never
dial the number of any officer-incharge
of any police station because it
is not my job. Although it appeared in
newspapers that I had called up the OC
of Nandigram police station, it is not
right,” he said.
ing on the day of polling.
If they find or sniff anything
untoward being hatched to terrorise
their committed voters, the
four candidates should immediately
get in touch with the EC officials,
who would be approached
with the plea of escorting the voters
to the booths under the protection
of paramilitary forces, specially
posted in the area to ensure a
free and fair election. Party leaders
hope that if the candidates
approach the EC, their cases would
be taken up seriously. In monitoring
the entire operation, if the candidates
do not get to cast their
vote, the party will not mind, said a
senior CPI(M) district leader.
“The master plan has been
drawn up because we have defi-
nite inputs that such a conspiracy
is being hatched by the
Opposition,” asserted a senior
party leader.
The supporters, for whom the
plan has been drawn up, are based
in Salboni, Nadabahara and
Manikpara under Gopiballabhpur
constituency, Chhotopatina,
Barapatina, Chandabila and
Barakhankri under Nayagram,
Kanko gram panchayat area under
Jhargram and half of the Jamboni
block under Binpur Assembly constituency.
The facility of webcasting by
which the EC can monitor the voting
procedure in the booth
through webcam has been
installed in 15 booths, spread over
four seats.
� CPI(M) workers at a rally— File photo
Mamata slams Buddha
for ‘violating model code’
TMC chief asks
how the CM
could hold a
press meet 24
hours before
the poll. It is a
violation of the
model code
of conduct,
she says
Sudarshana Mukherjee
Chhatradhar may not be able to campaign
Our Correspondent
Kolkata: The desire of
Chhatradhar Mahato, the leader of
the People’s Committee against
Police Atrocities (PCPA), to campaign
in Jhargram Assembly constituency,
from where he is contesting
as an Independent, has run
into a hard wall and come to a
naught.
The Election Commission (EC)
did not comment on Mahato’s
petition seeking permission to
campaign and said it was for the
legal system and the state correctional
home department to
decide. The PCPA leader is at present
in Midnapore central jail and
had approached the court, seeking
permission to campaign in
Jhargram.
The Election Commission’s
response came after a Jhargram
court on Wednesday had said that
the jail authorities or other competent
authorities in the state had
to decide on allowing Mahato to
campaign during the Assembly
election.
EC officials said the petition
seeking permission to campaign
was filed by additional director
� Chhatradhar Mahato
general (prison) on Mahato’s
behalf. “We examined the petition
and decided it is not an Election
Commission matter. The issue will
be decided by the concerned
authorities,” said chief electoral
officer Sunil Kumar Gupta on
Friday.
POLL STRATEGY
� CPI(M) supporters had
fled the area in the face of
Maoist insurgency
� Candidates have been
told to ensure that voters
make it to the booths,
come what may
� If committed voters are
being terrorised, the four
candidates should quickly
tell EC officials who
would provide protection
The correctional
home department
or any other competent
department
will think about his
security. The permission
to campaign
for the candidate
behind the
bars is not under
our jurisdiction
—Dibyendu Sarkar, joint
chief electoral officer
Gupta added that in his petition
letter, Mahato added that he had
got exemption from the court to
campaign.
“But it is not a matter for the EC.
There is no EC law to bar him from
contesting or campaigning.
Mahato filed a petition in court,”
said Gupta.
Mahato is an undertrial, who
has been charged under Unlawful
Jhargram/Balarampur: Mamata
Banerjee concluded her election campaign
in Jhargram on Friday.
“The countdown to the CPI(M)’s
demise has begun. As soon as the EVM
machines will be opened, it will ring
the death-knell for the Marxists,” she
told the gathering in Jhargram while
campaigning for Sukumar Hansda of
the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
She also gave her piece of mind to
chief minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee. “How can a chief minister
hold a press conference just 24
hours before the election? It is a violation
of the model code of conduct,”
said the Trinamool chief.
“The chief minister did not even
dare to enter Jangalmahal. He is the
nayak (hero) of the Maoists. He also
could not go to North Bengal. Then,
where is his government’s credibility?
People will throw him out after this
election,” she railed.
She said the CPI(M) could kill her
and proclaim that she had been killed
by the Maoists or any other extremists.
Activities Prevention Act. A senior
official said Mahato had not been
convicted and therefore he was
not violating the model code of
conduct and the Representative of
People’s Act.
“The concerned correctional
home department or any other
competent department will think
about his security and campaigning.
The permission to campaign
for the candidate who is behind
the bars does not come under our
jurisdiction,” said joint chief electoral
officer (expenditure monitoring)
Dibyendu Sarkar.
The EC clearly mentioned that
giving permission to campaign to
an undertrial candidate was the
prerogative of the concerned
authorities and court.
However, Mahato’s desire to
campaign has virtually come to a
naught. A senior Election
Commission official said the court
and government departments
stay closed on Saturday and
Sunday even as campaigning for
the sixth phase ends on Sunday.
Mahato is contesting against
CPI(M) candidate Amar Basu and
Trinamool Congress candidate
Sukumar Hansda.
� TMC chief Mamata Banerjee at a rally in Balarampur on Friday — PTI
She also accused People’s Committee
against Police Atrocities leader
Chhatradhar Mahato of being hand in
glove with the CPI(M). “What is the
reason behind Chhatradhar Mahato’s
contesting the election?” she said.
The CPI(M) candidate and MLA of
Jhargram Amar Basu is a strong contender,
having won the seat by 40,000
votes in 2006. There is also the possibility
of the anti-Left vote getting divided
here as the Jharkhand Adivasi Bikas
Parishad is also in the fray. In the last
Lok Sabha election in 2009, too, party
MP Pulin Bihari Baske polled 66.89 per
cent against the 26.39 per cent polled
by Amrito Hansda of the Congress.
The TMC, though, is banking on
Netai, which falls in this constituency,
where the carnage took place on
January 7, to extract the same mileage
Nandigram had given to the party. CBI
has found a number of CPI(M) leaders
guilty and charge-sheeted them.
TMC got a shot in the arm following
land agitations in Singur and
Nandigram. But the Netai killings may
not help TMC reap the same benefit in
the Red bastion of Jhargram.
The firebrand Trinamool supremo
also campaigned in Purulia’s
Balarampur earlier in the day. “The
poor tribals have been exploited for
ages by every possible dispensation
that has ruled the state. And, when
they try to break free from the shackles
of injustice and oppression, they are
called rebels,” she thundered amidst a
roar from the crowd.
She said that of the 341 blocks in
Balarampur constituency, the residents
of 147 blocks cannot manage even two
square meals a day while starvation
has affected 42 blocks of the area
despite over three decades of Left rule.
So, she exhorted the people to help
her party candidates, Shanti Mahato of
Balarampur and Kirtan Mahato of
Joypur, win the election.
Banerjee stressed that the deprived
people of Jangalmahal desperately
needed proper service delivery mechanism
in education, primary healthcare
and overall development of the
hitherto neglected region. She also
emphasised rainwater harvesting as a
remedy for all the deficiencies in this
arid region.
Kishanji questions heavy
deployment of forces
Our correspondent
Purulia: Maoist leader
Kishanji on Friday questioned
the rationale behind the massive
deployment of security
forces in and around
Jangalmahal for the fifth and
sixth phases of the state election
and asked whether it
“reflected democracy”. In a
four-page letter signed by him
and sent to the media, Kishanji
said though the Maoists did
not believe in the democratic
system, they respected the
views of those who did.
For the last two phases, the
Centre has decided to deploy
an additional 800 companies
of central forces, 200 companies
of the state police and six
BSF helicopters. The massive
deployment of forces was in
addition to the paramilitary
forces already present in the
area for the last three months.
In his letter, Kishanji asked:
“Is this the reflection of
democracy?” He added: “The
CPI(Maoist) does not support
� File photo of Maoist leader Kishanji (head covered)
speaking to reporters
the democratic system but we
will not stop others from
believing in the system. We do
respect their view.” Kishanji
said that they gave a call for
vote boycott as the Maoists
never believed in a “failing”
system. He added that despite
that the Maoists would not
stop anybody who believed in
it. The CPI(Maoist) politburo
member, however, said:
“Whoever wins should concentrate
on democracy and
welfare of the people. We will
keep a close watch.”
In his reaction, at a press
conference, chief minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
said: “ I do not believe in its
authenticity and I do not want
to comment.”