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Tough talking helps
The relative peace that marked the second phase of polls proves that it always pays to be prepared. The Election Commission seems to have learnt some important lessons from the violence and tension that marked the first phase of polling which had taken place on February 16 and left nothing to chance in its management of Sunday's polling. Indeed, there was a great deal at stake. Not only was the future of 1,545 candidates on the line in some 183 constituencies involving 200 million voters, some of these seats were extremely sensitive. In Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, for instance, Union Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party was pitted against mafia don D.P. Yadav of the Jantantrik BSP, and local officials had expressed the fear that large-scale violence would break out there. Then there were worries of booth-capturing and other malpractices in Bihar, given the fact that 26 people had already lost their lives in election-related violence in that state. As if this was not enough, there was theboycott threat from the GNLF in the hill districts of West Bengal, and from the People's War Group in Andhra Pradesh to contend with.All this demanded that the Election Commission demonstrate an exemplary commitment to the conduct of a free and fair election. To a large extent, it succeeded in doing so, despite a death being reported in Orissa; complaints of booth-capturing in some parts of Hoshangabad and Chhindwara where Congress heavyweights Arjun Singh and Kamal Nath are battling for survival; isolated Naxal violence in certain pockets of Andhra Pradesh and low turn-outs in Darjeeling thanks to the GNLF boycott call. The unprecedented precautions the EC took definitely helped. In Sambhal, a police force of 15,000 was requisitioned, and the PAC, RAF and other paramilitary squads put on high alert. True, at least six people were reported to have been injured in the clashes that broke out in this key constituency, but the situation would certainly have been much worse in the absence of proper security.Similarly, while the deaths of seven persons in Bihar and the injuries caused by bomb explosions in the Hajipur constituency of the state are disturbing, at least the widespread terror that marked the first phase of polling was not in evidence this time. A feature of last Monday's violence in constituencies like Patna and Gaya was the involvement of high-ranking officials like DMs and SPs in it. This time care was taken to nip such high-powered manipulation in the bud, with the detention of state ministers like Brijbihari Prasad and Sita Sinha, and RJP MLA Bhikhar Baitha for violating the model code of conduct and creating disturbances during polling. What also helped immeasurably was the prompt countermanding of the Patna polls and the order that there would be repolling in 1,500 booths in nine constituencies of Bihar. The message clearly was that the State will not, on any account, countenance attempts to derail its democratic processes. It is a message that should stand the Election Commission in goodstead as it prepares for the next phase of polling on Saturday. Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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