VZCZCXRO2803
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCI #0148/01 1341112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131112Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1995
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1873
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 0870
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 0865
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0583
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 0570
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2437

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM IN
SUBJECT: WEST BENGAL LOCAL ELECTIONS INCLUDE CONTROVERSY AND 
VIOLENCE 
 
REF: A )KOLKATA 66  B) KOLKATA 141 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: On May 11, the first phase of panchayat (local 
village) polls took place in five districts of southern West 
Bengal.  Violence and controversy in Nandigram dominated the 
day's events.  Local Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) 
Member of Parliament (MP) Lakshman Seth attempted to limit the 
security efforts of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Deputy 
Inspector General Alok Raj, who told the media that the 
Government of West Bengal (GOWB) had given him written 
instructions to keep CRPF personnel away from trouble-prone 
areas on election day.  In Purulia, on the border of Jharkhand 
state, Maoist insurgents -- who had called for a poll boycott -- 
triggered a land mine blast killing a Border Security Force 
(BSF) soldier and injuring 11 others.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On May 11, the first phase of panchayat polls took place 
in five south Bengal districts -- East Midnapore, West 
Midnapore, Burdwan, Bankura and Purulia.   Although the State 
Election Commission and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee 
characterized the elections as largely "peaceful," there were 
reports of sporadic violence between rival political parties, 
stealing of blank ballots, and intimidation by the CPM 
supporters.  Voter turnout in the districts averaged 55 percent. 
 
¶3.  (U) Controversies and confrontations in Nandigram dominated 
the day's events.  Since early 2007, Nandigram has witnessed 
turbulence with locals violently opposing the  CPM-led state 
government's land acquisition for industry and the CPM cadres' 
vengeful repression of villagers (reftel A).  On March 14, 2007, 
state police killed 14 Nandigram villagers.  In November 2007, 
CPM musclemen forcefully "recaptured" Nandigram from defiant 
villagers who were compelled to surrender.  CRPF was called in 
subsequently to maintain peace in the area.  On polling day, 
local MP and CPM strongman Lakshman Seth ordered the Deputy 
Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 
Alok Raj to stay inside the CRPF camp in Nandigram.   Raj's 
telephone conversation with Seth - in which he defied Seth's 
orders - was witnessed and recorded by local media and was 
telecast nationwide when Raj put his cell phone on speaker mode. 
 Raj and the CRPF disregarded Seth's orders and continued 
patrolling the area.  Later, a female CPM supporter told members 
of the press she had been molested by Raj and filed a formal 
complaint with the police.  Raj said he would welcome an 
independent inquiry into any allegations against him.  (Note: 
Most of the CPM's partners in the Left Front, as well as 
opposition parties, condemned Seth's interference in CRPF's 
security duties.  However, CPM Central Committee member and MP 
Shyamal Chakrabarty defended Seth, saying he did the right thing 
by "discussing" patrolling arrangements with Raj.  End Note.) 
 
¶4.  (U) Raj subsequently revealed to the media that on May 9 the 
GOWB had given him written instructions to keep the CRPF away 
from trouble-prone areas.  Raj said the May 9 order contravened 
"standard operating procedure" and the "area of domination" 
agreement signed between West Bengal's Director General of 
Police and the CRPF in November 2007 when the CRPF first arrived 
in Nandigram.  According to election rules, the CRPF can patrol 
in all areas other than around the polling booths.  Raj claimed 
he asked the district magistrate to intervene and consulted his 
superior officers on appropriate action.  He was instructed to 
patrol Nandigram Block-I and not enter polling premises during 
the panchayat polls.  The Union Home Ministry has asked for 
reports from the GOWB and the CRPF on the telephone conversation 
between Raj and Seth. 
 
¶5.  (U) In addition to the CRPF issue, several incidents of fake 
ballots, violence, and intimidation were reported in the 
Nandigram area. For example, CPM supporters threw stones at CRPF 
women personnel on duty at Garupara.  Reportedly the CPM 
attackers had the support of the Officer in Charge of 
Nandigram's police station Debashis Chakraborty.  Local media 
reported that some armed CPM activists took over  a polling 
station in Jalpai and cast false votes, fleeing when the CRPF 
reached the area.  There were also reports of CPM supporters 
using guns to threaten voters at Bhangabera, where a CPM 
candidate wanted by police in a murder case, Naba Samanta, was 
running for office. 
 
¶6.  (U) Election-related violence was not limited to Nandigram. 
In the Purulia district, on the border of Jharkhand state, 
Maoist insurgents set off a land mine killing a Border Security 
Force (BSF) soldier and injuring 11 others at Sirka village near 
Bandwan.  The BSF vehicle was destroyed as soldiers escorting 
 
KOLKATA 00000148  002 OF 002 
 
 
polling officials were returning to Bandwan after poll duty. 
The area was immediately cordoned off and Jharkhand police were 
informed about the blast.  (Note:  Maoists had called for a 
boycott of polls in Purulia and in the first week of May had 
killed two local CPM leaders there.  End Note.) 
 
¶7.  (U) Comment:  The CPM's formidable network in rural West 
Bengal enables it to influence and intimidate voters despite the 
presence of GOI security forces.  Local leaders like Seth wield 
overwhelming authority on the ground, often controlling the 
local police and have the capacity to foment violence when/if 
necessary for the party's benefit.  The panchayat elections are 
officially run by the State Election Commission -- headed by a 
retired state bureaucrat - but the real power lies with the CPM 
machinery. 
JARDINE