Why clean drinking water is an election issue in West Bengal this time

Data shows 91 out of every 100 houses in rural Bengal do not have tap water connection. Major political parties are promising to address this. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised clean drinking water for everyone in West Bengal in the BJP manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress has also given significance to the same as the word “water” appeared 26 times in its manifesto. So what is making water an election issue in Bengal? The state is reeling under severe clean drinking water crisis due to scarcity of tap water, combined with the prevalence of arsenic and saline water in major regions. West Bengal is placed among the bottom three states, after Assam and Ladakh, in the list of functional tap water connections in rural households. More than 91 out of every 100 rural households do not have tap water connection. While the national average for tap water connections in rural households is 37.28 per cent, the same for Bengal is only 8.63 per cent, according to the Centre’s department of drinking water and sanitation .