A baby shot dead in her mother’s arms is the new image of the horror of political violence in West Bengal. This state of unreason is a legacy of the long rule of the Marxists, who came to power 32 years ago by legitimizing the use of violence in politics. And they have stayed in power by making violence a byword for politics in Bengal. With that happening, all other institutions, legal and administrative, were made subservient to the use of violent means. Whether in the settling of an industrial dispute or in fighting an election, the use of coercion, intimidation and violence came to be the major weapon in the hands of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The violence that has rocked the state since the current poll campaign started is thus a result of the political cult that the CPI(M) has nurtured all these years. If the government that the party leads has failed to stop or curb the violence, it is not simply because of administrative incompetence. The failure has much to do with the party’s view of violence as a political strategy. The incidents of post-poll violence, in particular, show the failure of the state administration. The Central forces are here to ensure security during the polling process; but post-poll violence is an issue of law and order, and tackling it is the responsibility of the state administration.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his comrades blame much of the current violence on the Opposition, especially on the Trinamul Congress. If some of these violent acts were indeed inspired or committed by the opposition parties, it points to two things. First, others have taken a leaf out of the CPI(M)’s book to use violence in order to create their own political space. Second, many more people have become bolder to express their anger against the CPI(M). In terms of the current elections, this means that the CPI(M)’s rivals are trying to take over some of the space that the former has held for long with the help of violence. None of this is any justification for violence by any political group. But the Marxists have the responsibility to assure the people, including those who oppose them, that they will rule by the book and not by the gun. That is a more important test for rulers in a democracy than winning elections, and the Marxists have already failed it. This failure could eventually be more consequential for public life in Bengal than the election results. Bengal’s future can be rather uncertain in the hands of such failed rulers.