Trinamool 'terror' keeps Khejuri voters indoors

KHEJURI (East Midnapore): Subol Das of Khejuri had every opportunity to vote on Thursday. His name was on the voters' list. Central forces did the rounds, assuring people of protection when they went to vote. For a brief moment, Das had toyed with the idea but quickly resolved not to. He had already paid a heavy price and didn't want to risk anything further.
Haradhan Das, Pradip Midda and Manoranjan Das, all from Khejuri, did not vote either. Each of them had individually decided it wasn't worth destroying Khejuri's fragile peace for that brief moment at the polling booth. "The past seven years have been tumultous for families like ours that have traditionally supported CPM. Most of us had to flee for our lives after Trinamool 'captured' Khejuri in 2009. I didn't vote at the Lok Sabha elections that year or at the panchayat elections in 2013 because we were on the run. Though I returned before the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, I didn't vote after being threatened with dire consequence. This time, I could have voted but did not as the aftermath may prove dear," said Pradip Midda.
Subol, Haradha, Pradip and Manoranjan were among the 250-odd residents of Khejuri branded as "hardcore CPM supporters" by the Trinamool after the region was scarred by 2007 violence. Nandigram, which was Left dominated, switched to Trinamool after the January 2007 violence over land acquisition. Adjoining Khejuri, which was separated from Nandigram by the Talpati canal, managed to remain a CPM bastion till 2009. Even in the 2008 panchayat polls, the CPM retained control over Khejuri 1 and 2.
During these two violent years, the Left launched several attempts to recapture Nandigram, using its stronghold Khejuri as launchpad till it was ultimately run over by Trinamool. Once the CPM party offices fell, the support base crumbled. Then the purge began with CPM families driven out of Khejuri and their homes ransacked.
Some of families lived in camps for months. Though 200-odd families did return after a while, the male members stayed away, fearing reprisal. Some of them had been active participants in the two dark episodes: the shooting at Tekhali bridge on March 14, 2007, and November 14, 2007, when 'Operation Sunshine' was carried out to recapture Nandigram.
Though Khejuri now has no trace of red, the families that had supported CPM during the uprising continue to be viewed with suspicion. Around 50 CPM leaders of various capacity still haven't returned to their homes. Khejuri, meanwhile, has completely embraced the twin flowers. At the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Sisir Adhikari returned a lead from this assembly segment for the Contai seat.
While many didn't vote, Dipali Mondal-former sabhapati of Khejuri 2 panchayat samiti-gingerly stepped into Boga booth 224 on Thursday afternoon and voted in the first election in eight years. She had also fled with her husband, Pabitra, to Haldia when Khejuri fell. While they lived in a rented dwelling, their house in Khejuri was ransacked.
Dipali returned to Khejuri just prior to the 2011 elections when the administration took measures on the directive of Election Commission. But she hastily retreated the day before the election after receiving threats. The story had been repeated in 2013 and 2014. Dipali came back to the village before each election and put up at a relative's house before being forced to leave just ahead of the poll day. This time though, she was determined to overcome her terror. On the third attempt, she cast her ballot on Thursday afternoon. "I still live in Haldia and have nothing to lose. I guess that is why I have been able to vote, unlike those who have had to make a compromise for peace," she said.