Kolkata: Bengal Cabinet Clears Govt Jobs for Families of Poll-Violence Victims, Covering 25 Years

The West Bengal cabinet has cleared a policy to give a state government job to one member of each family that lost a person in political or election-related violence over the past 25 years, a senior official confirmed on Friday. The scheme covers Panchayat, Municipal, Assembly and Lok Sabha election violence and will be open regardless of the victim's political affiliation, with applications to go through district administrations after a formal notification.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk30 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

Kolkata, October 30: The West Bengal government has initiated administrative processes to provide state government employment to family members of individuals killed in political and election-related violence across the state over the past 25 years, a senior government official confirmed on Friday, October 30. The policy has been cleared by the state cabinet.

Source: Nation Press

The proposal has also been cleared by the Cabinet and the Law Department, Daily Jagran reported, citing News18 reporting from Nabanna sources. The scheme covers victims of violence linked to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the 2021 Assembly elections and Panchayat elections over the past 25 years, and the government is expected to make a formal announcement shortly.

Source: Daily Jagran

25 yearsPeriod of election violence covered by the scheme

1Family member per victim family to get a government job

4Election levels covered: Panchayat, Municipal, Assembly, Lok Sabha

Officials said the recruitment will be executed without regard to political affiliation, making family members of deceased workers or supporters of any political party eligible, provided they meet the specified administrative criteria. To handle the legal complexities of incidents dating back 25 years, the government held consultations with legal experts and secured formal concurrence from the Law Department before finalising the framework.

District administrations are leading preparations on the ground. During a virtual conference held on Thursday, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal briefed District Magistrates across the state on the policy and directed them to begin identifying eligible families and preparing preliminary documentation. Verification will rely on official police records, historical case files and official death documentation, and submitted applications will undergo multi-tier verification by local police stations, district authorities and legal scrutinisers.

What happens next: a formal government notification detailing eligibility criteria, including age limits, required educational qualifications and designated job roles, is expected to be issued, along with public advertisements inviting applications. Families will then apply through their district administration, sharing details of the deceased person and of how the death took place, for verification before eligible cases are sent forward for a final decision.

Sources