ELECTION COMMISSION SCHEDULES WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000105 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI PTER IN SUBJECT: ELECTION COMMISSION SCHEDULES WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS REF: CALCUTTA 0003 ¶1. (U) Summary: On March 1, the Election Commission (EC) announced an extended five-phase polling schedule for West Bengal's (WB) upcoming state legislative assembly election. The phased schedule reflects the EC's intention to monitor polling closely in this state noted for vote rigging by the long-ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)(CPM). The EC recently deleted the names of over one million fake and dead voters from the voters' list. Undaunted, CPM officials have staged a rush of new project inaugurations and groundbreaking ceremonies to burnish their Party's record of attracting development and private investment. The CPM has also dropped "old-school" CPM officials who have questioned Chief Minister (CM) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's new mantra of economic reform and private investment from the Party's candidate list. Opposition parties Congress and Trinamul Congress are still unable to form an alliance, as Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee refuses to drop her association with marginal player Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, Maoist violence against WB and CPM officials in south Bengal appears to be intensifying with the approach of elections. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On March 1, the Election Commission announced an unprecedented five-phase polling schedule for WB's legislative assembly elections. Of the four states and one union territory scheduled to hold elections this coming April-May, WB is the only state with such an extended election schedule. On April 17, 45 assembly constituencies will go to the polls, 66 on April 22, 77 on April 27, 57 on May 3 and 49 on May 8. Votes will be counted on May 11. CPM leadership, unhappy with the EC's intense oversight, has said that such a prolonged process in WB was unnecessary. Alternatively, opposition parties are hopeful that the schedule will result in a fairer voting environment for their candidates. ¶3. (U) EC observers are in WB March 1-9 for the third time in recent months to review pre-poll preparations, the electoral rolls and to assess the GOWB's execution of non-bailable warrants against criminals. On February 22, the EC released a revised electoral list with 1.29 million dead or fake voters' names deleted and 2.14 million eligible names added. The total list has 49 million voters; an increase of 851,000 voters since the last state assembly elections in 2001. To ensure control of polling stations, EC observers will reportedly supervise paramilitary forces during the election. ¶4. (U) Undaunted by the EC's challenge to their primacy, CPM officials, lead by the CM, have been campaigning aggressively. In recent weeks, the CM has inaugurated new high-profile development projects and broken ground on a new medical college, two hospitals, a management institute, a thermal power station, a book mall, redevelopment of an industrial township, a sugar refinery, a water-pumping project and a motorcycle factory, to list just a few examples. To attract the Muslim vote, the CPM GOWB also announced that it would upgrade a 225-year old Calcutta Madrassa to a full-fledged college. GOWB-funded billboards throughout Calcutta highlight the state's development, with slogans like: "Agriculture is our foundation, industry is our future;" "Winds of industrialization are blowing over the cultural capital" and "Roads are meant not just for walking on, roads pave the way for economic progress." CPM State Secretary Anil Biswas said that 3 million party volunteers are already canvassing across the state. ¶5. (SBU) The CM and his supporters are using the elections to consolidate the CM's more reformist economic policies in the Party. The party is dropping older party functionaries not fully committed to private investment, excluding sixty-four sitting Left Front MLAs, including eight ministers from the list of candidates released on February 16. "Old-school" ideologies are being shed, literally, as all the senior CPM officials in the Education Ministry have been dropped for failing to introduce a new, market-oriented curriculum. The CPM is also bringing in new blood, as 108 of its candidates are first-time contestants, with 70 reportedly less than 40 years of age. The total of 290 Left Front candidates include: CPM 210, Forward Bloc 34, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) 23, CPI 13, CALCUTTA 00000105 002 OF 002 Socialist Party 4, Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) 2, Marxist Forward Bloc 2, Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI) 1 and Biplabi Bangla Congress 1. ¶6. (SBU) While the Left has kicked-off a well-organized campaign, the opposition parties have not yet been able to finalize an alliance or release their candidate lists. Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has been meeting with state Congress President and national Union Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and central Congress leader Margaret Alva to negotiate a possible alliance between the two main opposition parties. However, Congress is willing to forge an alliance with her only if she breaks with the BJP. So far, Banerjee has not dumped the marginal BJP, despite persistent reports of disagreements between the two parties over seat-sharing. State BJP President Tathagata Roy told post that Banerjee is insisting on allotting Muslim-dominated constituencies to the BJP where it could not possibly win. Congress Working President Pradip Bhattacharya told post that this difference might provide a chance for the Congress to ally with Trinamul. However, Bhattacharya said that the situation is very uncertain. Congress is forging ahead with planned alliances with some smaller parties like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS). ¶7. (SBU) Meanwhile, Maoist insurgents appear to be stepping up their attacks on CPM officials and police in remote areas of south Bengal. On February 26, a Maoist attempt to murder the Superintendent of Police in West Midnapore with a landmine killed three policemen and a villager. Police believe this was a revenge attack by rebels against a crackdown launched by the government, which resulted in the arrest of two woman cadres on February 7. On February 13, Maoists attacked a bank, stealing Rupees 160,000 (USD 3,608) and a police camp, looting ten guns in Purulia. On January 23, Maoists blew up a forest bungalow in Bandwan, Purulia and on December 31 killed a local CPM leader and his wife. The state government has appealed to the GOI for more security forces to tackle the Maoist menace in the run-up to the elections. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: The EC is clearly taking its responsibility for ensuring free and fair elections in WB very seriously. The upcoming elections will likely be the fairest ever held in the state. However, the CPM is unlikely to lose its hold, given its entrenched position after 29 years of power and weak opposition. The only real question will be whether CM Bhattacharjee can use the coming state elections to consolidate his position within the Left Front. The election of his supporters will help him implement more aggressive economic reforms and curtail resistance from the party's old-line members. JARDINE