World | India
Voters in West Bengal ignore Maoist threat
Tens of thousands of paramilitary troops guarded polling centres on Monday as voting began in India's West Bengal state where the world's longest-ruling communist government is seeking re-election.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:32 May 3, 2009
- The ruling left front has fielded 43 candidates in the three districts while the CPI(M) alone has put up 35 nominees.
- Trinamool congress has put up 39 candidates leaving four to its right-wingelectoral ally BJP.
- The Congress which is fighting the poll in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Party for Democratic Socialism, has fielded 36 nominees giving six seats to JMM and two to PDS.
Kolkata and New Delhi: Tens of thousands of paramilitary troops guarded polling centres on Monday as voting began in India's West Bengal state where the world's longest-ruling communist government is seeking re-election.
The first phase of elections in 45 seats in three Maoist-affected districts - 21 in West Midnapore, 11 in Purulia and 13 in Bankura - began at 7 am to decide the fate of 227 candidates.
Thousands of people in colourful ethnic dresses stood in long lines outside voting booths in three districts, dominated by the Maoist rebels who have given a poll boycott call, in the first of the five-phase election process.
Ignoring the Maoist boycott call, voters, including many women, trickled into booths.
A total of 7,700 polling booths have been set up in the three districts to enable 3.2 million electorate to exercise their franchise.
The Maoist threat meant helicopters had to be used to fly polling personnel and voting machines to several "hyper-sensitive" areas, police said.
The state's ruling leftists are fighting the main opposition Congress party, which heads the federal government.
The left parties support the Congress coalition in New Delhi but are pitted against it in the state polls where the communists are aiming to win power for the seventh straight term since 1977.
In the run up to the polls, senior left party leaders have been vociferous about "reviewing" their support to the Congress coalition, accusing them of selling out to the United States by signing a landmark civil nuclear energy cooperation deal.
The left parties have also been critical of the Congress government's economic polices, especially its ongoing drive to privatise state firms.
However, in West Bengal, reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been riding a wave of economic liberalisation and has focused more on industry and investment, leaving the opposition searching for issues.
Pre-poll surveys have so far projected a grim picture for the opposition Congress and a Hindu nationalist alliance with the left predicted to wrest 220-230 seats in the 294-seat assembly.
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