Role of BDOs in Alleged Malpractice Raises Concerns About West ... - The Wire

Kolkata: A week after the panchayat poll vote counting in West Bengal, allegations of malpractice at the counting centres have emerged, raising concerns about the involvement of the administration. A video clip from a court proceeding headed by Justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta high court has gone viral on social media and is being widely applauded and shared by opposition supporters.

In the video, Paramita Ghosh, the Bali Jagacha Block Development Officer (BDO), can be seen admitting that ballot papers were snatched at the counting centre. The State Election Commission has yet to confirm whether any re-polling has been ordered in response.

The same video also captured the visibly shaken response of Akhil Mandal, the BDO of Ramnagar 2 in Purba Medinipur, when questioned about a change in the election results during the counting process. Another incident involves the BDO of Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur, where a police complaint has been filed stating that a CCTV camera and its memory card have gone missing from a counting centre.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar has alleged that the administration is complic in destroying evidence of malpractice.

State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Choudhury has gone a step further and called for a court-supervised investigation into the role of BDOs in alleged electoral malpractice. He stated, "The role of these BDOs in this year's panchayat polls is terrible. They have employed various strategies to ensure Trinamool's victory. Evidence keeps coming to us one after another. BDOs have denied certificates to winning candidates. In some instances, Trinamool won by forging the opposition candidate's signature without their knowledge and withdrawing nominations. Hundreds of ballots in favour of opposition parties, signed by the presiding officer, have been found in gutters and ponds on the streets. How is that possible, when the ballot boxes contain more ballots than recorded by the presiding officer? Investigating the role of BDOs under court supervision will reveal many things."

In many seats, there was a mismatch between the recorded votes on the day of polling and the number of votes counted. According to a report published in Ananda Bazar Patrika, the total number of voters in Kalikapur-1 Gram Panchayat 44, South 24 Parganas is 1,422 as per the electoral roll. The Form 18, signed by the presiding officer, recorded 1,196 vote polled. However, according to information given on the Commission's website, the total votes received by all candidates is 1,522.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, "To take over the panchayats, everything was being managed by a team comprising of local Trinamool leaders, BDOs and police officers in-charge. They were directly taking orders from the chief minister. They sent many outsiders into the counting centres to rig the polls. By 11 am, it was clear that Trinamool is losing in many places. Then suddenly the speed of counting slowed down. The BDOs switched off their phones from then on. Fraud started inside the counting centre. The Trinamool is committing fraud in every way. This time the certificate of the BDO is not the last word, the honourable court will have the last word. Those who closed their eyes should think now!"

The role of BDOs has repeatedly come under scrutiny since the announcement of the polls. Last month, the Calcutta high court ordered a CBI probe into a petition regarding alleged document tampering by the BDO of Uluberia Block-I, which led to the cancellation of nominations for two CPI(M) gram panchayat candidates.

In Nandakumar Block, Purba Medinipur, opposition parties alleged that local BDO and returning officer Shanu Bakshi informed the counting agents that around 75% of the cancelled ballots would be allocated to Trinamool Congress, and the rest would be divided among the opposition parties. In Room 10 of Srikrishnapur High School in the same block, during the counting, opposition counting agents found an unsealed ballot box on the counting table. In Purba Medinipur, the CCTV footage revealed that the colour of the ballot box used in the polling station and the box sent to the counting centre were different.

Debashree Chowdhury, a BJP MP and former Union minister, made the allegation that BDOs had taken it upon themselves to ensure Trinamool's victory this time. Chowdhury stated, "I have personally engaged with numerous BDOs who have disclosed discrepancies in issuing certificates to winners and vote counting, and on the overall manipulation of the electoral process. Trinamool is displaying such desperation to secure a win that they are employing government officials. A thorough investigation will uncover the utilisation of double ballots, and it has even been discovered that Trinamool supporters gained unauthorised access to the strong room. Many startling revelations have surfaced, and people are beginning to comprehend the gravity of the situation for democracy in the state."

There have been glaring anomalies in the zila parishad results, where the Trinamool Congress secured an overwhelming 99% of the vote share in numerous seats across South and North 24 Parganas. These irregularities raise concerns about the fairness and integrity of the electoral system in the state.

A Trinamool leader in Birbhum, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed, "Immediately following Abhishek Banerjee's Naba Jowar Jatra, our senior leadership assured us that winning was no longer a concern. But the party must avoid having rebel candidates. That was the order from the top!"

In Ramuharhat, Birbhum, chief minister Mamata Banerjee's relative, Pampa Mukherjee, was the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kusumba Gram Panchayat. BJP's counting agent Mukul Mukherjee claimed that even during the counting, the local BDO announced that the Trinamool Congress candidate won by six votes. However, after tallying the government forms at the end of the counting, the BJP's counting agent asserted that they won by 36 votes.

In Dinhata, North Bengal, locals discovered 273 blank ballots outside a school, all signed but with different signatures. In Bali, Howrah, ballots in favour of CPI(M) were recovered from a sewage drain. In Purbashthali, Purba Bardhaman, locals found dozens of ballots outside the counting centre in favour of CPI(M) candidate Bibi Sheikh, who lost by three votes. All the ballots were duly signed by the presiding officer. Local BDO Soumik Bagchi claimed to be clueless about how the ballots ended up outside.

Opposition leaders have been accusing chief minister Mamata Banerjee of politicising the administration by creating a direct relationship between the BDOs and the Chief Minister's Office, bypassing various layers of bureaucracy.

State Congress chief Choudhury remarked, "The irony is that those who win on party symbols are just puppets. The real power lies elsewhere. In the state, the power of the police chief surpasses that of the police superintendent, and the power of the BDO surpasses that of the district magistrate. The chief minister has direct contact with them and transfers them if they do not comply."

Several BDOs, while speaking anonymously, mentioned a WhatsApp group that the chief minister maintains to communicate directly. "It's true that the chief minister is in touch with us. She knows us by name. We don't have the audacity to go against this kind of political pressure. We would have to resign. The chief minister does not trust her party workers. She only releases funds for a project once she receives confirmation from our end," said a BDO, requesting anonymity.

In 2017, the West Bengal government implemented a cash compensation scheme for BDOs to compensate for the loss of holidays and weekly off days. The scheme was revised in 2021, providing BDOs with an additional 30 days of salary, including a Dearness Allowance. Meanwhile, government employees have filed cases in court demanding an increase in DA.

Rabindranath Ghosh, a Trinamool Congress leader from Cooch Behar, remarked, "BDOs had minimal work during the left-wing regime, but now they work from morning till 8 or 9 pm. As a result, the chief minister appreciates and supports them. While district magistrates and superintendents of police have connections in Delhi, BDOs do not. This has made the opposition target BDOs."

Prashanta Barman, the BDO of Kalchini in Alipurduar, denied allegations of malpractice, stating, "These claims are baseless. The voting process was fair, and everyone voted for Trinamool."

Interestingly, in an affidavit submitted to the court by the Public Service Commission, it was revealed that Barman had scored only 13 marks in the WBCS examination held in 2017, well below the cut-off. Allegations were made that his English marks were changed from '0' to '162' and Bengali marks from '18' to '168'. Many find it surprising to see the name of such a candidate on the merit list. The matter is currently pending before the Calcutta high court. When asked about this issue, Barman responded with a threat, stating, "I will reply later; I have your number."

West Bengal as a long history of political violence, but even then the panchayat elections in West Bengal this year have witnessed an alarming escalation of violence, making it one of the bloodiest elections in the last two decades, with the death toll surpassing 51. The polling day was marred by numerous incidents of booth capturing, rigging and violent clashes.

The Calcutta high court has ordered that the West Bengal panchayat elections and the announcement of results will be subject to its final orders regarding allegations of electoral malpractice. The court has scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 20.

Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.