Attack on Bikalpa procession

After so many incidents of obstructionist activism against the party, which raised fresh questions about the ruling alliance's intolerance of dissent, one would have expected that no further incidents of the same kind would take place. We have been proved wrong. Even the fact that a court verdict gave the BDB candidate 'kula' as his election symbol has apparently failed to chasten the campaigners on the adversarial side. It is extremely worrying that the police intervened only during the second attack, which goes to imply that the first assault was allowed to happen. However, we note that both Mannan and Mahi rushed into the police headquarters where they felt safe.

All such incidents of intimidation and musclemanry will have to be averted at this phase of the run-up to the by-election by means of effective police vigil and preemptive action. We say this because of our apprehension that if the trend of resistance against Mannan continues, it might hinder, even foil, fair and free conduct of the by-election.

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We reemphasise the imperative necessity for an assertive Election Commission role to ensure that all candidates are given equal electioneering opportunities.