Until a couple of days in the past, Covid-19 was not a problem throughout election rallies in West Bengal. However, as instances rose, amid a fierce campaigning battle, the pandemic made an entry into the political discourse.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took up the difficulty of the extreme surge in Covid-19 instances and made it central to her rallies after the Bharatiya Janata Party, based mostly on an unauthenticated leaked telephone name, accused the TMC of instigating “violence” in Sitalkuchi killings amid different allegations of reduce cash and corruption.
As the second wave of Covid-19 started to rage in Bengal and throughout the nation, CM Banerjee hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union authorities for “mismanagement” and “incompetence”.
Banerjee has accused the Modi authorities of “not doing enough”. In a letter to PM Modi, she talked about that she had requested the Centre to offer the states extra freedom with issues of vaccination and significant medicine.
In reality, the ruling Trinamool Congress had additionally submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission, urging to membership collectively the previous couple of phases of the elections given the circumstances and curtail rallies which can be crowd pullers to examine the Covid-19 unfold. The demand was rejected by each the EC and the BJP. However, it’s now being thought-about.
The previous few phases of the Bengal meeting elections are crucial for each the BJP and the TMC. Especially for the latter.
The remaining seats in Kolkata, the place voters are extra conscious than in hinterlands, will go to polls in the final three phases. The sudden spurt in Covid-19 instances in Delhi, Maharashtra and different states had a constructive affect in Kolkata as individuals started to masks up.
Jyoti, a pupil of Kolkata’s Presidency College, whereas buying books in iconic College Street, stated, “We should have been more prepared. Our politicial leaders must realise that Bengal is no better and all must mask up. I have begun to.”
Sujoy Haldar, proprietor of Ajanta Chemicals in Ballygunge, stated, “Over the past few days, I have seen people suddenly coming and asking for N95 masks and santisers. Good.”
In Bengal, there’s a perception that whoever wins Kolkata, wins the state. Therefore, with Kolkata going to polls, the TMC is seeking to acquire out the Covid-19 issu. Not simply the TMC, however even the Congress, which has sizeable affect in the constituencies like Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, too, has made the pandemic their electoral plank.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who examined constructive on Tuesday, cancelled all his rallies final week and has been most vocal in criticising the federal government on COVID-19. “Voters in the 6th round of polling in Bengal have great opportunity to speak for the entire country,” P Chidambaram had stated in a tweet.
However, the BJP has refused to take the blame. It has criticised CM Banerjee for “politicising” the pandemic as “she was not prepared herself”.
The saffron social gathering has slammed Banerjee for “lack of hospitals”, “health infrastructure” and “modern facilities” in the state, particularly rural Bengal, which has resultantly “cramped up” hospitals in Kolkata.
PM Modi has again and again hit out at Banerjee for refusing to undertake the Centre’s well being scheme of Ayushman Bharat. At a rally, he stated “She hates me so much that she doesn’t even care for the people of Bengal. She has refused to be a part of this scheme, which is for the people.”
CM Banerjee and TMC supremo retorted saying that the Bengal authorities already has an identical well being scheme underneath the identify “Swastha Saathi”.
The Centre has stepped in with many steps to regulate the state of affairs after a number of states pleaded for assist for weeks. One of the measures that the Centre has taken is to grant extra autonomy to states to plan their combat.
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