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The Election Commission has issued a "straight-talk" to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, posting on X that the elections in West Bengal later this
month "would surely be fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free and without any chappa, booth jamming and source jamming."
Posting on X in Hindi, the EC wrote: "Chunav Aayog ki Trinamool Congress ko do took (two cents). Paschim Bengal me is baar chunav: Bhay rahit, Hinsa rahit, Dhamki rahit, Pralobhan rahit, chhaapa rahit, booth evam source jamming rahit hokar hi rahenge. (ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress. This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free and without any Chappa, Booth Jamming and Source Jamming.)
The Election Commission and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal administration have been at loggerheads, with tensions escalating over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as well as law and order concerns during polls. While the EC has pushed for stricter oversight, flagging issues like violence, voter intimidation and booth capturing, the state government has accused the poll body of overreach and politically-motivated interference.
The assembly elections in West Bengal are taking place in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will be done on May 4. The state will witness a high-octane battle between the TMC and the BJP. Mamata Banerjee will be seeking to return to power for the fourth consecutive time in the state, while the BJP will be trying to reach the majority mark in the polls.
In the 2021 polls, the TMC registered a landslide victory for the second consecutive time, while the BJP could manage to bag only 77 seats out of 294.
