Is panchayat elections in Bengal more about territorial domination by political parties than decentralisation of power to the grass roots? CNN-IBN's senior editor Sougata Mukhopadhyay joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Hi dada, how well BJP is placed in West Bengal panchayat polls? Asked by: Jagannath
A. Likely to do well in some pockets, especially in central Bengal like Murshidabad.
Q. The kings have gone and the kingdoms have gone but what has remained eternally embedded is the MINDSET of territorial domination, which remains estranged in the Indian Polity. Be it Bengal or the on-going Panchayat elections under two TMC and Congress, they are not talking of devolution of powers to panchayat, they want a connect from the village ----block---district----state----centre. It is unfortunate that elections at the village level are being fought at the party level. What the mainstream parties are failing to comprehend is that, though the voter may be the same for the Panchayat or the State or the Parliament election, he does not cast his vote with the same mindset when it comes to voting at the three situations. At the Panchayat level he is only interested in his village, at the state level he sees his block and rises above his village level issues, and when it comes to Parliament, the same voter has his view of broad performance of the Government at the centre, he does not go by his village issues. When will the parties understand this. Asked by: S ESHWAR
A. I doubt the timing if ever at all, given the kind of overt politicization that has happened in a state like Bengal at all levels of administration.
Q. Do you think that TMC's current hold in Bengal is more to do with the erstwhile have nots having a shot at power, rather than correcting the wrongs of the previous left governments? Asked by: Oliver
A. Not sure if I have understood your question correctly. But I think the TMC's current hold in Bengal has got everything to do with the disillusionment with the previous Left regimes. No one I believe has a clue about "correcting wrongs", whatever that means.
Q. Violence in WB is not going to see an end. Do we need a Congress government like that Of SS Ray once again to control the situation? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Not sure about that. More than governments, this requires a change in the political mind set which would treat the grass roots polls as a means for effective, decentralised administration rather than an excuse to ensure territorial domination.
Q. Sir, How can we stop tyranny on women? Asked by: Ramdas
A. Stricter implementation of the laws and less politicisation of such incidents can be a good first step towards achieving that.
Q. Why do the state police authorities remain silent when Leaders of Opposition party have no security? Asked by: Ronnie
A. Opposition leaders having "no" security may be an exaggeration... they have their own cadres to surround them all the time. And it isn't true that state police authorities always maintain silence, only when they are asked to do so by the powers that be!
Q. Was the reluctance to hold the elections now a right decision of TMC. Could this have prevented the violent incidents? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Violence over panchayat polls in Bengal is inevitable any time the elections are fought since it is a bare knuckle fight for territorial control. The reluctance that you are talking about was, I believe, was purely because of other political considerations.
Q. Between Left Ideology and TMC's emotion, the followers of the parties get to cross swords. Is the divide and polarisation so wide that they need to resort to violence? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Historically stating... yes! Basing experiences on what is happening in recent times, I think there is little effort by the parties concerned to bridge that divide.
Q. Panchayat polls are mostly on local issues. Strengthening the base at that level was strong point of left. Is TMC on an replication mode? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Absolutely. But like I have been saying, more than addressing local issues the focus is on having physical control over a region like in the middle ages!
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