West Bengal Assembly elections: Is corruption the biggest issue in the polls?

Kolkata: As Bengal goes to the polls, the issue of corruption has taken center stage in the election campaign for the first time since Independence.

Post Saradha scam in which lakhs of investors had been duped and Narada sting operation, which has purportedly shown some leaders of TMC accepting bribes, the issue of corruption has evolved as the main poll plank for the Congress-Left Front alliance, apart from "restoration of democracy" in TMC ruled Bengal.

The six-phase election will begin in West Bengal tomorrow.

"Never before has there been a such a corrupt government in power. During emergency we had fought against the Siddharth Shankar Ray government on the issue of restoration of democracy and democratic rights. But there was never ever such a huge scale corruption by leaders of ruling TMC," CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra told PTI.

"Saradha scam to Narada sting operation, corruption is a major issue in this poll. Restoration of democracy, unemployment are there but corruption is the biggest issue as people of Bengal are fed up with the corrupt government. Have you ever seen a Bengal minister arrested for involvement in corruption," Mishra said, referring to former state sports Minister Madan Mitra, who is behind bars after he was arrested by CBI for his alleged involvement in Saradha scam.

Elections in Bengal since Independence have always been fought on the basis of ideologies, policies of the government, restoring rights of the opposition parties, development, industrialization, unemployment and food security. But never before there have been large scale allegations of corruption against the present government.

The Trinamool Congress has countered the allegations of corruption by stating that Saradha scam is the "sin" of the erstwhile Left Front regime and Narada sting operation is a 'doctored sting' to malign TMC before polls.

"Chit Funds like Saradha are sins of erstwhile Left regime, it is our TMC government which has shut down those Ponzi firms and arrested their bosses. And the sting operation is a doctored video to malign us. TMC is the most honest political party in the country," TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said. .