Biman Bose

Calcutta, May 18: Relieved that comrades didn’t kill comrades as in the second phase of the panchayat elections, CPM state secretary Biman Bose played down today’s violence, comparing the toll with that in earlier rural polls.

“I’m not justifying today’s violence and deaths. But it was only confined to five blocks of three districts out of the seven districts that went to polls today. Barring a few incidents, the polls were peaceful in comparison to 2003,’’ Bose said.

Although he didn’t offer any figure, CPM leaders at the party headquarters said over 60 people were killed in three days in 2003 — on the eve of the polls, on polling day and the day after.

This year, 18 people were killed in three days of polling.

When it came to the blame game, he held the Congress responsible for the violence, particularly in Murshidabad’s Domkol, where six persons were killed. He sounded hopeful of wresting the Congress-led Murshidabad and Malda zilla parishads despite the bloodbath The CPM’s hope stems from factionalism in the Congress and an expected anti-incumbency factor.

“Knowing that it will lose this time, the Congress had a plan to trigger widespread violence. But it was confined to Domkol because of the people’s resistance,” Bose said. He was visibly happy that Cooch Behar, where the CPM and front partner Forward Bloc have been at loggerheads, did not witness any fresh flare-up.

With the wounds of Basanti, South 24-Parganas — where alleged CPM goons killed five RSP supporters including a minister’s relative three days ago — still raw, Bose and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were keen to avoid further clashes with the ally in Jalpaiguri and South Dinajpur. Bose pinned his hope to beat the Congress in Murshidabad and Malda on an electoral adjustment with the RSP in these two districts.

In Malda, he added, the front had lost five seats because of rancour among the allies in 2003. “We are expecting a better result this time.”

State Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee demanded the chief minister’s resignation for the violence in Murshidabad. “He should step down for trampling the democratic rights of the people.” Mamata Banerjee said the elections had become a “farce” because of “state sponsored terrorism”.