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THE 2019 Lok Sabha elections would be a long-drawn-out affair lasting well over a month. According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC), voting will take place in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. In 2014, polling was conducted from April 7 to May 12 in nine phases, while the number of eligible voters was over 81 crore (this figure has now risen to around 90 crore). This time, the EC has spread the elections across all phases in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar. The decision is justified in the case of UP, which has the most number of constituencies (80) for any state. However, the poll panel has failed to explain satisfactorily why West Bengal (42 constituencies) and Bihar (40) have been included in this category. The ‘law and order situation’ and the ‘availability and movement of security forces’ have been cited as the reasons, which certainly warrant elaboration.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has accused the Central government of misleading the EC with ‘wrong inputs’ on the ground reality in West Bengal, even as the opposition parties — primarily the CPM, the Congress and the BJP — have claimed that the prolonged exercise reflects the ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation there. The wall-to-wall schedule is likely to confine firebrand Chief Minister and wannabe Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee to her state, even as her party insists that she will campaign across the country. In January, Didi had upped the ante against the NDA government, organising a mega rally of 20-odd parties. This was followed by her showdown with the Centre over the CBI’s move to question the Kolkata Police Commissioner in the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams.
It is also baffling that Odisha, which has only 21 Lok Sabha seats, will go to the polls in four phases, the same as for the much bigger state of Maharashtra (48 seats and over double the number of voters). The EC needs to clear the air over such inconsistencies, even as it must explain why the entire exercise continues to be protracted despite the use of EVMs.