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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Bengal is staring at the winner’s curse. A win isn’t an endorsement of either Mamata or BJP

While high voting percentages usually signal a desire for change, in Bengal’s climate of violence, it may reflect a desperate bid for survival.

The high voting percentage (92.6 percent) in the first phase of the West Bengal elections could be the result of two factors: first, the clean-up of the electoral rolls with the removal of dead, duplicate and migrated voters, with several lakh voters still to be reinstated after hearings at the appellate tribunals; and second, the extraordinary nature of the challenge being mounted by the BJP this time and the very high level of security being provided to voters to vote without fear.

High voter turnouts have traditionally meant a desire for change, but this time that would be too simplistic an assessment: it could also have driven a high turnout of Trinamool voters and its support base which may fear retribution in case the other side comes to power. After all, this is what they did in 2021, when it was the BJP that lost. Why should they expect any different if the BJP comes to power?

The first phase is where the BJP recorded its best performance in 2021, and the second phase is where Mamata Banerjee wiped out the........

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