The three main Opposition parties in Bengal — the BJP, CPM and the Congress — told the visiting Election Commission full bench on Monday that the Assembly elections be conducted in one phase, or at the most two.

Following their interaction with chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the BJP’s poll panel coordinator, Shishir Bajoria, said his party had demanded that the Assembly polls be held in a single phase or in two phases against the earlier practice of seven-eight phases spanning around six weeks.

“We have demanded that the elections be held in one phase, or at the most two phases. We don’t want elections to be conducted in a prolonged manner with more than half a dozen phases,” said Bajoria, who met the full EC bench along with senior BJP leaders Tapas Roy and Jagannath Chattopadhyay.

This marks a stunning U-turn by the BJP, which had in 2021 welcomed the eight-phase polls in Bengal on the belief that it would boost the party’s prospects.

Bajoria said the party had changed its position. “We think prolonged elections lead to harassment for people, and there is no requirement for it,” he told The Telegraph.

Several BJP leaders said the party’s performance analysis after the 2021 polls had identified the multiple-phase elections as one of the key issues contributing to the Trinamool Congress’s victory.

“Top BJP leaders from Delhi and the state have finally realised that long-drawn elections have always helped Trinamool. The ruling dispensation, which has the muscle power and control over the vote machinery, gets the upper hand during multi-phase elections. They can mobilise their machinery and musclemen from one place to another to manipulate elections,” a senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

He pointed out that the 2011 elections were conducted in six phases, while the 2016 elections were held in seven.

“So, if the election takes place in a single phase or two phases, Trinamool cannot mobilise its forces,” he added.

Another BJP leader said chief minister Mamata Banerjee would get more time to connect with voters at the ground level in case of a long-drawn-out election. A limited-phase election would restrict her to fewer locations, which would help the BJP, he added.

“Everyone knows that Trinamool is synonymous with Mamata Banerjee. In contrast, the BJP has many senior leaders, starting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who can be deployed simultaneously in dozens of places during campaigns. So, a single-phase election will also benefit us in campaigning,” the BJP leader said.

CPM state secretary Mohammad Salim also said the party wanted fewer polling phases.

“We have demanded that the election be held in one phase or a maximum of two phases — because goons, officers and police will be sent to different places if the elections are held in many phases,” said Salim, who was accompanied by Samik Lahiri and Afrin Begum at the EC meeting.

The Congress, in its letter to CEC Kumar, demanded that the elections be held in a single phase.

However, Congress veteran Pradip Bhattacharya, who was accompanied by party leaders Prasenjit Bose and Ashutosh Chatterjee at the meeting, later told reporters that they were okay with two or three phases, provided the EC ensured that the polls were fair and free from violence.

Trinamool leaders, however, claimed that the number of phases was not a factor in winning elections.

“We are least bothered about the phases. Be it one or 10, the result will be the same because we have the support of the people, which the Opposition does not. This is the same BJP that thumped its chest about winning the 2021 elections held in eight phases,” Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said.

The Trinamool delegation to the EC, which comprised ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya and Firhad Hakim, along with the party’s would-be Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Kumar, did not raise any demand on the number of phases. The party submitted a six-page letter, highlighting “flaws” in the SIR process and the fate of over 60 lakh electors under adjudication.

The CPM and the Congress also demanded that all pending cases related to the post-SIR voter rolls be resolved before the election and urged the poll panel to ensure no eligible voter was deprived of their rights.

The BJP’s state vice-president, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, claimed they had not intervened in the matter under judicial consideration.

‘Go back’ slogan

A group of people, mostly women, staged a demonstration in front of the Kalighat temple and shouted “go back” slogans at CEC Kumar, who had gone there to offer prayers on Monday.

Several in the group claimed their names were either deleted or kept under adjudication despite them being genuine voters.

Kumar did not comment on the issue and wished well for the people of Bengal.