Very few will doubt that the ruling Trinamool Congress is set to win a convincing mandate in the upcoming three-tier panchayat polls in West Bengal. But ironically, the ruling party seems to be losing out a different battle. The battle of perception in which the image of the state has been left scarred, bruised, and stigmatised following a bloody spectacle that unfolded in the run-up to the polls.
The body count since 8 June when the polls were declared, has gone up to 16. The last one to be killed was a 17-year-old Muslim school student. Goons threw bombs from rooftops killing the youth on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.
Scores of others have been maimed, wounded and hundreds of incidents of arson, intimidation, and extreme violence have taken place. There is fear of more violence on the polling day on 8 July.
Should there be more bloodshed, it is bound to cast further aspersions on the ruling party’s ability and sincerity in ensuring a peaceful poll. A deviation from that would rob the rulers of the legitimacy of a fair win.