Cruelty thy Name is Stupidity

         West Bengal Election Campaign

     Cruelty thy Name is Stupidity

                                Nidhu Bhusan Das

West Bengal Assembly Election 2016 is over. The results are on 19 May. Right now we don’t know who will win. Whatever be the result, Ms Mamata Banerjee,  Chief Minister, will be remembered as a victim of cruelty meted out to her by the opposition. Etiquette and niceties of democratic practice were thrown to the wind. She was subjected to a witch-hunt by the coalition of the Left Front and Congress soon after the campaign for the last phase of the election was over. 

                                                       

            In the last leg of her campaign, Mamata was in Cooch-Behar.She left the district in the evening for Chalsa in the neighbouring district for rest after a grueling campaign trail that covered all the 294 constituencies.Mamata did not choose to be in a Government bungalow.She stayed in a private lodge. She was the lone campaigner for her party. They raised the hue and cry that the Chief Minister chose to stay at Chalsa to manipulate and vitiate the election process. A team of senior congress leaders rushed to Siliguri to checkmate her. A senior CPI (M) leader from Siliguri rushed to Falakata to monitor the electioneering by his comrades  and instruct them as well as to file complaints to the Election Commission online and by phone. Media reports suggest he accomplished his mission.

              This eloquently speaks of the stupidity of a section of our politicians. If one can communicate with the Election Commission back in Kolkata or New Delhi from a remote corner, is it necessary for Mamata to stay at Chalsa to influence the election process in Cooch-Behar in this Information Age? Can it be the ground for witch-hunting the Chief Minister? Is it untrue that Dawood Ibrahim  has been able to run his network in India from abroad though he is wanted in the country?

             But, unfortunately, it happened. We generally see once a person becomes an MLA, MP or a minister, his/her health improves because of a regulated way of daily life and strict recipe. In case of Mamata, it is just the reverse. Not that she is ill, but it is because she overworks as Chief Minister and party supremo.We also see a section of the Bengali Elite,at the drop of a hat, is critical of Mamata who does not belong, by birth, to the elite class. Such conscience keepers of West Bengal have been unable to see and understand the witch-hunting. It is strange but true.