Alert EC ensured realistic turnout in Bengal

KOLKATA: Election Commission's alertness did not ensure a higher turnout in the state as is believed. A sharp EC ensured a slide in polling percentages in the last three phases to more realistic levels compared to the first three - when complaints of rigging had flown thick and fast.
The phase-wise changes in polling percentage speak for themselves. High turnouts (district-wise) were evident only in the first three phases when the state was yet to get adequate supply of central forces due to elections in Assam and most of the complaints of rigging were made.
With increase in central forces in the subsequent phases, there was a substantial dip in turnout figures.Fact is voting percentage dipped in disturbed constituencies where the poll panel and state police tackled efforts at manipulating voting.
Narayangarh in West Midnapore, CPM's CM-face Surjya Kanta Mishra's seat, is a case in point. Polling was held in phase 1B. Through the day Mishra said he was not allowed to enter a single booth, was harassed by alleged Trinamool supporters. End of day, Narayangarh recorded a turnout of 90.5%-4.5% higher than the district average of 86%. But the pattern of very high turnout changed swiftly once the EC became stringent. Turnout dropped in the so-called sensitive con stituencies, much below the district average.
Bijpur in North 24-Parganas had witnessed violence before the polls. It recorded a turnout of only 69.5 % - nearly 12.5% lower than the district average of 82%. The same is true for Bally and North Howrah where turnouts were 9.5 % and 11.8% less than the district average of 79.7%.
CPM's Md Selim said of the skew: "In the first three phases Trinamool successfully manipulated votes and mobilised their polling machinery, which they couldn't in the last phases. We've told the EC this and demanded repolling in several booths in these phases." But psephologist Mohidul Islam begs to differ. "There's a pos sibility of rigging in the first three phases but that's not all. The last three phases were in urban, semi-urban areas. People who'd voted Trinamool the last time may have stayed away. That could be a reason for the low polling rate."