Buckling under intense pressure from the state election commission, the Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday agreed to concede some ground and redistribute some districts in two phases of panchayat election. However, barring this minor concession, the state government rejected all other recommendations and suggestions made by the state poll panel in its 11-page letter on Monday.
The state government totally ruled out a three-phase poll and deployment of Central paramilitary forces at the booths.
The government notification issued on Friday had announced two-phase polls in which 14 districts were clubbed in the first phase on April 26 and three Congress-dominated districts in the second leg on April 30. On Tuesday, after several rounds of talks with the chief minister, law minister, panchayat secretary, state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said that rural elections would be held in 11 South Bengal districts on April 26 and five North Bengal districts and Murshidabad on April 30.
Mr Mukherjee acknowledged that the state government made this change following the suggestion of the state election commission. “Contr-ary to some media report, we are not trying to avoid elections. We want to prove that we are keen on holding free and fair polls on schedule. Therefore, we made this change following the commission’s suggestion,” he added.
However, barring this minor concession, the state government rejected virtually every recommendation which state election commissioner Mira Pande had made in her 11-page letter sent on Monday. Contemptuously dismissing the commission’s letter as one written by a school boy, Mr Mukherjee said: “Of the 11 pages, 10 and a half are irrelevant and unrealistic.” Ms Banerjee told Mr Mukherjee that she was not willing to accept either of the two main recommendations of the commission: three-phase poll and deployment of Central forces.