West Bengal Civic Poll Violence Should Have Been Avoided, Sends Out Wrong Message: Sougata Roy

On Sunday cases of violence and malpractices marred the election to 107 municipalities across West Bengal.

TMC Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy. (Source: Getty Images)

Kolkata: In an embarrassment for the TMC leadership, the party's Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy Tuesday criticised the widespread violence during the civic poll in West Bengal and said it should have been avoided as it sends out a wrong message among the people.

On Sunday cases of violence and malpractices marred the election to 107 municipalities across West Bengal.

"The incidents of violence should have been avoided as it sends out a wrong message among the masses. What is happening is not good. If such incidents keep happening, people will lose faith in us," Roy told a TV news channel.

He had stirred a hornet's nest ahead of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation poll last year by saying that the party will not accept the use of violence during it as TMC had to pay a heavy price because of it during the 2018 panchayat poll.

Asked what he thought was the main reason behind the violence during the civic poll, Roy said "We (TMC) will win based on the work done by us, there was no need for resorting to violence ... Maybe the lust for power or some other reason, I don't know. I am not aware whether the party's messages for zero tolerance to violence percolated to the grassroots level".

When contacted by PTI, Roy said he was not aware of any message of zero tolerance to violence during the civic poll this time by the party's top brass.

Roy, who was recently dropped from the party's national working committee, had supported the idea of "one person, one post" in the party espoused by the next-gen leaders close to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Widespread violence, rigging and clashes with the police were reported from various parts of Bengal from the north to the south in one of the most extensive electoral exercises in the state since the assembly polls last year.

Opposition BJP had dubbed the poll process as a "mockery of democracy" and called a 12-hour shutdown on Monday to protest the violence. The TMC dubbed the allegations as baseless and said opposition parties are trying to find excuses sensing defeat.

The votes will be counted on March 2.