New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation on Monday termed the results of the assembly polls in five states as “shocking outcomes”, alleging large-scale voter exclusion, electoral manipulation and central interference, particularly in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
In a statement issued by its Central Committee, the party said the results in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry reflected a disturbing trend, with the BJP’s rise in West Bengal and the emergence of a new political force in Tamil Nadu marking a significant shift.
“The elections have produced a string of shocking outcomes, especially in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” the statement said. “For the first time in the electoral history of West Bengal, the BJP has come to power while Tamil Nadu witnessed the rise of a new party, TVK, ending the Dravidian political domination of last six decades.” The party alleged that the electoral process in several states was compromised by mass disenfranchisement and irregularities. “It must be noted that the results have come in the wake of mass exclusion of voters to the tune of more than nine million in West Bengal and more than seven million in Tamil Nadu,” it said.
Flagging specific concerns, CPI(ML) Liberation claimed that “extra filters were added in the West Bengal SIR process in the name of ‘logical discrepancy’ and more than three million voters were deprived of their voting right”.
It also pointed to “extremely bizarre delimitation of constituencies in Assam” and elections being held “in the shadow of massive central intervention” and unprecedented deployment of paramilitary forces.
Linking the outcome in West Bengal to a mix of political and social factors, the party said, “It is this calculated act of electoral subversion, and the mobilisation on communal lines using the bogey of infiltration from Bangladesh coupled with the accumulated anger against the misrule of the TMC, [that] has resulted in the BJP’s unexpected scale of victory.” The statement warned that the results could “embolden” the BJP at the national level. “An emboldened BJP will try to use the poll outcome to further its sinister political agenda of complete capture and centralisation of power,” it said, alleging risks of “further disenfranchisement and ethnic cleansing” and “silencing of people’s protests through heightened repression and political witch hunt.” Calling for a united response, the party urged opposition forces to mobilise. “Left and progressive forces must close ranks and stand with the people to resist this fascist design,” the statement added. PTI AO ARB ARB
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