The Bharatiya Janata Party won more than 10,000 seats and registered a vote share of 22.88% in the recently concluded Panchayat elections in West Bengal. The saffron party improved its tally despite reports of wide-scale political violence, arson, and recorded incidents of ballot box tampering and destruction. In a disgrace to the democratic setup in the Eastern state, there were reports of rampant attacks on candidates and even incidents of destruction of ballot boxes.
Amid all of this, OpIndia spoke to the two-time Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1975 from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. He completed his Ph.D. at SOAS University, London. In that era, he wrote a thesis after deeply studying the politics of division and discrimination in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. He has also been a Visiting Honorary Professor at JNU.
He was bestowed with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award for his contribution to the field of education and literature. He has also been a Post Graduate Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. During his long-stint in journalism, he held editorial responsibilities in leading media organizations like ‘The Indian Express’, ‘Times of India’, ‘India Today’ and ‘The Statesman’. Since 1990, he has been associated with the Bhartiya Janata Party. He has also written a book titled ‘Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right’.
Here are the excerpts from the Interview.
Question: More than 40 people died during the Panchayat elections. It is also claimed that several leaders who won on a non-TMC ticket have fled the state to Assam fearing for their life. In this climate of fear, what is your take on the democratic structure in the state? And is democracy only limited to elections?
Answer: It is a concerning issue that during this year’s panchayat elections, violence was witnessed not only during the voting phase but it started from the nomination day itself and it has not seized even after counting was over. Around 50 people have died which include people from all parties – TMC, BJP, Left, and ISF (Indian Secular Front).
Most of the violent incidents took place in the Muslim-dominated areas. The reason behind this is that in the 2021 assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress captured all the votes of the Muslims. Around 90-95% of the voters from the Muslim community went to them. Total polarisation among the Muslim community was one of the prominent reasons for the defeat of the BJP in the assembly election. However, in this election, there has been a split in the Muslim votes which has resulted in these violent incidents.
Most of the violence took place in Murshidabad and Malda districts. There is a silent intimidation going on. An anti-democratic culture of ‘Jiski lathi, usi bhains’ (might is right) and ‘Winner Takes All’ has been prevailing in the state. This was started by the Left and TMC has copied it, TMC is a carbon copy of the Left.
The cadre of Marxists and Trinamool is different, but both are similar with only one difference. Corruption during CPM’s regime was limited and it was the party that indulged in corruption. But in Trinamool’s case, corruption is all-pervasive from the top leadership to the lower rungs. From the state government to the panchayat level, everyone is in cohorts with each other and everyone’s share has been fixed in all of this.
On account of rampant corruption, the funds allocated for Central Government’s schemes (MNREGA, Awas Yojana, Har Ghar Jal, etc.) have been usurped. This has ruined the economy of West Bengal and corruption has been institutionalised as a source of income. They are desperate to win because they all want is to be assured of their source of income for the next five years. Now, for all these reasons, there is an urgent need for major reforms in the state.
Question: The Lok Sabha tally of Trinamool Congress declined from 34 seats in 2014 to 22 seats in the 2019 general elections. Is it possible that the spate of violence during Panchayat elections can be a strategy to wipe out BJP and the entire opposition from the state especially before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls?
Answer: It is difficult to gauge what will be public opinion in 2024 based on the result of this panchayat election. The widespread loot and voter fraud – is a matter of concern. The State Election Commission conducted the panchayat elections through ballot boxes. Fake votes were cast on an alarming level, there were widespread attacks and voters were under constant threat, so it is difficult to estimate but it is certain that this will have a bearing on the Lok Sabha elections.
During the earlier elections, TMC’s corruption didn’t become a deciding factor because it is perceived that MPs have limited power in the state’s affairs. But when voting pertains to the Central level, the voters are flexible. They see Lok Sabha and assembly elections differently. It happens that those who voted for Trinamool Congress in the assembly elections may end up voting for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
At the state level, the organizational structure of the BJP is still a cause of worry. It is still not that strong and has many shortcomings or bottlenecks. However, to instill confidence in voters, central forces can be deployed 3 months prior to the elections and if the Election Commission conducts voting in 8 to 10 phases with sufficient presence of central forces, then you will see a completely different picture in Lok Sabha elections as compared to the Panchayat elections.
Question: Apart from Mamata Banerjee’s politics, what is your opinion on the society of Bengal? With the Left rule persisting for a long time, has the prevalence of political violence or the saying ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun’ become a norm in the general society?
Answer: There are 2 things. First, is political influence. There has been a culture of violence in the Leftist struggles. It pervades the society as well. TMC defeated the Left by using their own technique. This side effect unfortunately has persisted within society.
West Bengal was once among the top-performing states in the country, around the time of Independence. Now, the same Bengal which was the number one or two state, has slipped to 17 or 18th place. Odisha is ahead and soon, Assam is expected to overtake the state.
Bengal is now lagging behind in terms of development and job creation, with no development taking place under the current dispensation. Businessmen are sick and tired of tollabaazi which is nothing but extortion. And corruption has become so rampant that large sums of money have been unearthed from the beds of TMC leaders.
What this means is that since the economy of the state is in the doldrums, corruption has become a dominating factor in virtually everything. Everyone is trying to loot as much as they can, from wherever they can. To add insult to injury, violence has become an integral part of this. The social system is such that educated and talented people are fleeing to other metropolitan cities of the country or abroad. They don’t want to stay here anymore and take a one-way ticket to safety.
On account of this looming migration crisis, the average age in Kolkata has shot up and it is higher as compared to other prominent cities of the country. Only the older generation, those who have either retired or have reached retirement age, have stayed back in Bengal. The productive generation, the youth, and the workforce do not want to stay in the state any longer. That’s why, nowadays West Bengal is performing worst in terms of migrant labour and is on top of the list in this matrix.
Question: Bihar earlier used to witness political violence of terrifying proportions. There were clashes on caste lines, forward-backward, between landlords and laborers. Thankfully, all of that is a thing of the past. So, what do you think are the social causes of political violence in Bengal? And why is it not ending?
Answer: Earlier when violent incidents unfolded, it was claimed that its roots lie in Bihar. At that time, Bihar had become the epitome of every major problem in the country. Back in those times, there were frequent reports of groups like MCC and Ranveer Sena perpetrating violence. However, this was the case around 15 years back. Now except for the minor clashes here and there, Bihar has gotten rid of large-scale political violence.
Bihar has seen some changes and is moving towards economic recovery. There is a lot left to be done there but nonetheless, it is making progress. Whereas Bengal is only traversing backward. The education system is in complete shambles and the left has to share the blame for this. They started ruining the education system and the situation has worsened thereafter.
There is another major factor for the social degradation of Bengal. Here the mentality of regionalism has crept in. Some have started to feel isolated and consider Bengal as different from the rest of the country. This means that there is a feeling of emotional secessionism. This is why those coming from other states are called ‘outsiders’ (bohiragato). Previously, Bengal welcomed individuals from UP-Bihar, integrating them into the fabric of life here and many of them speak the Bengali language.
Thousands of laborers, workers, small and large businessmen used to come here from Bihar. However, this trend is gradually diminishing. Despite maintaining old contacts, the influence of Bengal on the entire state of Jharkhand, particularly in regions like Madhupur, Deoghar, or Bhagalpur, is also diminishing.
The people of West Bengal have to accept the reality. They are going downhill – culturally, politically, and economically. West Bengal’s political influence has waned substantially and it virtually has no influence left. Back then, there was Pranab Mukherjee but he too had more sway in the National politics than in Bengal. For a long time now, the state has kept itself separate from the mainstream and its side effect are glaring in the eye.
Question: Other than society, now let’s talk about the system, government, and policing. There have been news reports like ‘explosion inside the house while making bombs’ and ‘crude bomb found in bags’ coming to the fore from Bengal at regular intervals. If these things are becoming a norm, isn’t there an urgent need for Police reforms in the state?
Answer: Before implementing police reforms, it is crucial to address the recruitment system within the police force. Currently, there is an imbalance. More individuals have been recruited into the civic police rather than the professional police. The kind of professional police that was needed has not been recruited. While, they have cited lack of funds as a reason for this, in reality, the police system has become highly politicized.
During the recent Panchayat elections, the Police helped the miscreants in tampering, destroying, and looting the polling booths. Apparently, most of the complaints in the courts are against the police. The police personnel played an active role in the violence.
More than police reform, they (the entire police department) need to be reconstructed in West Bengal.
Previously, there was a well-functioning police force, but it has been utterly destroyed. Even today, the Kolkata police are better than the rest of the Bengal police. The governance system of West Bengal has collapsed and the culture of governance has been ruined.
I think a different kind of revolution is needed to save Bengal – not the Red Revolution or Trinamool Revolution. We need a Nationalist Revolution. Everyone respects Bengali culture, but it is not different from India. The Bengali culture enriches India. If you go on shouting ‘Ours is ours’ then nothing will happen.
Question: The last question is about the workers of the party irrespective of the party they belong to. They are the first ones to face the major brunt of political violence. On account of the long reign of leftist rule and the idea that “party is everything” and “kill or die for the party”, has this psyche kicked in other parties as well? Has the culture of political violence percolated in other parties too? As we have not seen a visible change in the pattern of election violence in Bengal even after the change of government in the state.
Answer: If you go to the Hindi belt, it is stated that the political workers engage in ‘politics’. Whereas, in West Bengal, it is said that ‘Party kore chhi.’ Which party? It doesn’t matter to which party he belongs, what matters more in Bengal is the party.
CPM started a trend of separating ‘party’ from ‘politics’ and now TMC is doing the same. The situation is such that whatever you do, you have to join the party. In recent times, Trinamool has been promoting this party culture.
Earlier, there was a centralized system in Trinamool and only a single window for clearance. But now many groups have cropped up within Trinamool itself at different levels. The party is everything now and it is also the guardian. This mentality has pervaded all the parties.
