Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had been defeated from Nandigram and became the unelected Chief Minister of the State. While she gathered overwhelming electoral support from the minorities, she lost her constituency. While West Bengal Election 2021 has featured unprecedented consolidation of minority votes, West Bengal minorities have not done as well in different parameters as minorities all over India. Despite that, over 97% of them voted for TMC. Such consolidation, hence, seemed unnatural and non-spontaneous. As per sources on the ground, Muslims were instructed at corresponding mosques to vote for TMC come what may. If this is accurate, such informative voting has not only shifted the electoral math in TMC’s favor, but it has also murdered the true spirit of democracy, which requires each individual to judge for himself before voting for the candidate or party of his or her choice.
Nandigram was no exception. Who predominantly voted for Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram became clear after ECI published booth-wise results. Random selection of booths and going through election results exposed the fact that most of her votes came from minorities. However, Banerjee still lost that constituency, perhaps because politically conscious people of Nandigram failed some of her plans with utmost maturity and patience.
Given below are the number of votes received by different candidates in Booth No. 4, Nandigram (selection
of the booth was random).
Shuvendu Adhikari: 24
Mamata Banerjee: 806
CPM: 20
OTHERS: 7
NOTA: 2
TOTAL Vote Cast: 859
Booth number 4, Nandigram has 949 total voters, out of whom 56 are Hindus, and 893 are Muslims. While the total cast votes were 859, Mamata Banerjee won in this booth by Muslims’ votes while Suvendu Adhikari got only 24 votes, as Muslims did not vote for him.
Random examination of voters’ list of any booth where Mamata Banerjee got many votes and Suvendu Adhikari got minimal is likely to reveal the booth to be Muslim majority.
Booth 7 Nandigram is likely to strike a chord in people’s mind. Exerting the memory cells a bit, many might recall the incident of booth 7 on the poll day in Nandigram. Mamata Banerjee sat inside Booth no 7 alleging CRPF had created obstacles for genuine voters of the booth and helped the outsiders to vote instead of them. A very serious allegation which duly dragged the attention of all Constitutional Bodies, including the Honorable Governor of West Bengal, along with the Election Commission. Media was present while Mamata Banerjee was speaking to Election Commission Observers following which she left Booth No 7.
Ground Reporter of a renowned media channel interviewed a local voter who alleged he could not enter booth no. 7 to vote. He declared on camera his name to be Salim Khan, who’s a voter of Booth 7. While Mamata Banerjee was leaving booth no. 7, he too left the place and added that his vote had already been cast. Subsequent checking of Booth 7’s voters’ list at Boyal Maktab Prathamik Vidyalaya of Nandigram revealed there was no voter named Salim Khan, and it was an all-Hindu booth with 939 total Hindu voters. Salim Khan’s claim in front of the Media, hence, was false. However, the police did not proceed against him for misleading people on camera. Given below are the number of votes received by different candidates in Booth No. 7.
Shuvendu Adhikari: 620
Mamata Banerjee: 89
CPM: 30
(OTHERS + NOTA): 6
Total Votes Cast: 745
Total voters: 939,
Total voter turnout: 79.34%
Didn’t vote: 20.66%
While Mamata Banerjee got 89 votes i.e. 11.95% of 745 and 9.48% of 939 in booth 7, Suvendu Adhikari got 620 votes = 83.22% of 745, and 66.03% of 939. Adhikari defeated her at a large margin.
While voters of this booth chose Suvendu Adhikari over Mamata Banerjee, what could be the real reason behind Banerjee’s dharna in that booth, and her claim that CRPF was preventing genuine voters of booth 7 from reaching for polling? Who was being prevented in reality? Ground reports covered by media exposed striking facts. While Mamata Banerjee was sitting inside booth 7, conflicts continued between supporters of TMC and BJP outside booth 7 in the Gokul Nagar area of Nandigram. TMC supporters were mostly Muslims like Salim Khan who was trying to prevent booth 7’s voters reach for polling. CRPF’s timely intervention dispersed the crowd and perhaps aborted a more serious episode of violence. While TMC men did their job outside the booth, Banerjee herself remained seated inside instigating speculations whether she intended to facilitate the likes of Salim Khan to enter and cast fake votes instead of all Hindu voters of that booth. If she had guessed, she would not get much spontaneous support from all Hindu booths. She was not wrong. Our data work has categorically revealed 62% of casted Hindu Votes of Bengal went to BJP. Booth 7 of Nandigram, as a REFERENCE ALL HINDU BOOTH and gave only 11.95% support to Mamata Banerjee while rendering 83.22% dictates to Suvendu Adhikari. Did Mamata Banerjee feel desperate to avoid such shameful defeat and plan for booth capture? Discourse facilitates such speculations.
The political maturity and patience of the people of booth 7 played a critical to defeating TMC and its unconstitutional skills.
While TMC men tried to terrorize people outside booth 7, women thereof showed exemplary courage to gather booth 7’s nearby area one after another banking on CRPF protection. A short while thereafter, fake voter Salim Khan had to leave following Mamata Banerjee’s exit from that booth. The media covered the incident. While TMC campaigned all over West Bengal claiming ‘BANGLA NIJER MEYEKEI CHAY and daughters of Nandigram got her out of booth 7 & exercised their voting rights.
At Booth 7, Nandigram, TMC, along with Banerjee, demonstrated a sample modus operandi that could have been implemented successfully elsewhere in West Bengal. The plan that failed in Nandigram,had perhaps succeeded in other places. Had booth 7 been captured effectively by the likes of Salim Khan on April 1, Mamata Banerjee, on ECI record, would have won booth 7 too. This indirectly suggests there could be several booths in West Bengal where the final electoral outcome was not genuine. For example, before the 3rd phase poll on April 6, ECI approved TMC’s appeal that CRPF won’t check voters id cards before they entered polling booths. Based on such directives of ECI, it will not be irrational to speculate that TMC applied the Nandigram Booth 7 Model elsewhere on April 6. Nandigram people’s spirited participation yielded a synergy with ECI’s modus operandi to fail such plans. However, in most other places, such spirit and synergy was not in abundance.
Mamata Banerjee, though formed the 3rd term legislature, could not accept her Nandigram debacle. West Bengal Governor reached out to Nandigram, witnessed monstrous post-poll miseries of women thereof, and tweeted heart-wrenching videos that shook the soul of India. While the Chief Minister of West Bengal rejected the existence of any such violence and marked videos posted by the Governor and other people as ‘fake’ mighty truth would come to light and prevail.
