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Author: Udayan Namboodiri
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: February 10, 2006
Ever heard of a place with more voters than people? Well, such a thing is happening in the only "progressive" State of India - West Bengal.
No wonder, India, which is currently having a government reliant on "progressives" for sustenance, was packaged as the "world's fastest growing democracy" at the recent Davos extravaganza. Perhaps, only a brilliant economist like Dr Manmohan Singh can believe such things could happen.
Consider this. West Bengal had a population of 4, 43,12,011 in 1971. This rose to 8,02,21,171 in 2001 - an awesome enough growth rate of 80.99 per cent. But that's nothing till you notice that the number of voters in the State grew from 2,20,40,778 to 4,86,85,382 in the same period. The growth rate: 121.46 per cent.
No, you ain't seen nothing yet till you learn that there are 8,75,13,280 ration cards issued in the "progressives" paradise. That's 72,92,109 more eaters than people - forget BPL families. It must be noted that a ration card is good enough as proof of identity on election day. So, how many people are there in West Bengal and how many eaters and how many voters? Who is to be believed: the Census or the Election Commission?
The mind is in a whirl when the next beauty is hurled at you. West Bengal is indeed a State pulsating with democracy. In elections between 1952 and 1977, the State's election turnout rate was equal or slightly below the national average. But, after it became a "progressives" paradise, more and more "voters" (or "eaters") are "voting" with each election while the national average is going down. In the 2004 Lok Sabha election to the 42 Lok Sabha seats, the polling rate was 78 per cent, full 22 percentage points above the national figure. It's always been like that: In 1999, the national average was 59.99 per cent while in West Bengal, 77 per cent of the "people" turned up to "vote". In 1998, again, the mismatch was by nearly 14 per cent. And so on, backwards up to 1980.
Now, if you are a "progressive", "secular" and "liberal" person, you would risk expulsion from the tribe if you ask: Who are these "voters"? Or eaters? The guys on the ration cards or the folks on the voters list? But if you have none of the three attributes and proceed to investigate further, you are sure to realise that the statistics doled out of West Bengal, upon which famous journalists, psephologists and other wise guys base their predictions and analyses, amounts to nothing.
The Election Commission's team of observers now scouring West Bengal - one for each of the 19 districts - was startled to learn that some 42 lakh fresh applications had been filed for inclusion as "voters" in the monstrous electoral rolls of the State ahead of the 2006 Assembly election. Of these, 41 lakh had been sent by the CPI (M). On scrutiny, nearly 20 lakh were found to be spurious. But that's only because the EC has begun showing unprecedented interest in the "progressives" paradise. Earlier, the august body, which is about to teach the Americans and the Poles how to run their democracy, cared little for the plaintive cries coming from Bengal about a democracy in great distress.
In 1991, the then CEC, TN Seshan, had coined a term "scientific" rigging to explain the Marxists' wondrous performances in elections - all elections. Now, 15 years later, a less boisterous successor, BB Tandon, has done more than just coin slogans. He has sent his team, which includes the "liberator" of Bihar, KJ Rao, to investigate.
The net result has been only a scratch on the surface. Just 10 lakh bogus voters have been identified because of brazen non-cooperation offered by the Marxist government's staff. A big racket in producing fake voter identity cards has been blown. Bangladeshis, sleeping in the millions all over the voters lists, are being identified, albeit in pitiful dozens because it's always a case of the lone EC observer up against an empire that thrives on "Rig Veda".
The extent of the collusion between the ruling party and the State officials is something the EC had not budgeted for. Each and every official is a Marxist card-holder, a member of the Coordination Committee of State Government Employees, a CPI (M) front. Senior officers can't technically join the body, but a pernicious system that has thrived for the time span of a generation has convinced them that it doesn't pay to defy. Rao, Shivasailam and the 17 other EC observers have fired BDOs and SDOs left and right, booked dozens of minor staff and even recommended transfers for abject obstruction. But, ultimately, the EC doesn't have the wherewithal to follow up.
(To be concluded)
Profile of some masters
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was elected from the Bolpur seat for a record seventh time in 2004. We always wondered how the people living in one of the most impoverished constituencies of India, most of them victims of land sharks, and, quite a few of them victims of the most medieval form of terror (the Nannur mass murder of 2000 is yet to come up for hearing in court) could elect such a non-performer for so long. Now we know, thanks to the booth-wise results gorged out of the EVMs. These constitute forensic evidence of rape of democracy. Look at some of the jewels.
Labpur Assembly segment
Booth No.---------------Somnath Chatterjee----Nearest opposition
128------------------------------681------------------------5
59-------------------------------727-----------------------7
142-------------------------------455-----------------------23
Bolpur------------------------Assembly-----------------segment
94----------------------------------458-------------------------5
136---------------------------------639-----------------------15
135---------------------------------939------------------------30
Nannur -------------------------Assembly-------------------segment
135---------------------------------1,217------------------------5
But, in booths 138, 145, 146, 147 and 148 something unbelievable happened. Either the EVMs malfunctioned or Chatterjee was betrayed by his boys. For, the Opposition candidate beat him hollow by 1,305-10, 566-3, 867-7,1,228-16 and 1,059 to 9 respectively.
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