Kolkata, Jul 8:officials said 11 people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal since midnight as voting was underway for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state on Saturday.Six TMC members, one worker from each of the BJP, CPI(M), Congress, and ISF, and another person whose political affiliation could not be determined were among those killed, they claimed.
They stated that vote boxes were smashed in many locations around the state in addition to the violent battles that harmed numerous individuals.5.67 crore voters, representing 73,887 seats in the state’s rural districts, cast their votes at 7 a.m. to determine the fate of almost 2.06 lakh candidates. 36.66% of voters were registered as of 1 p.m., according to officials.
Governor CV Ananda Bose met with victims of the violence while visiting various parts of the North 24 Parganas district.
They claimed that BJP election worker Madhab Biswas was allegedly slain in Coochbehar district’s Falimari gramme panchayat.The TMC’s supporters allegedly blocked Biswas from entering the polling place in the morning, and as things got out of hand, they killed him, according to the BJP. The TMC refuted the claims.
In the Kadambagachi neighbourhood of the North 24 Paraganas district, a supporter of an independent candidate suffered injuries. Abdullah Ali, 41, was badly injured and placed on a ventilator, but he was not dead, according to the superintendent of Barasat Hospital. Earlier, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee had told media that he had passed away.Violence overnight claimed the life of a TMC employee in the Kapasdanga neighbourhood of Murshidabad district. According to authorities, the deceased was named as Babar Ali.In the Khargram region of the district, another TMC employee was slain. His name was given as Sabiruddin Sk.
Additionally, the TMC claimed that Ganesh Sarkar, a member of its booth committee in Cooch Behar’s Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti, was slain by a BJP attack.
In an altercation with Congress supporters in the Malda district, a TMC leader’s brother was slain, according to the police.
The incident took place near the Manikchak police station in Jisharattola. They said that Malek Sheikh was the name of the dead.Additionally, the TMC claimed that one of its employees had died in Nadia’s Chapra.
In a fight with the TMC in the district’s Haringhata neighbourhood, an ISF employee was slain. Saidul Seikh, 48, was the victim, according to the police.
Debasish Ganguli, the TMC leader in Nadia, asserted that ISF supporters were hurling homemade bombs at TMC employees when the event occurred. He asserted that “one of the bombs slipped from their hands and exploded.”Seikh’s family, however, claimed that he was killed in a TMC supporter attack.
Basanti in the South 24 Parganas area saw the death of a 38-year-old male. According to authorities, the event took place in the Fulmalancha neighbourhood, and the victim was named Anisur.
at connection with election-related violence, a Congress employee was allegedly slain at the Rejinagar police station area of Murshidabad. Yasmin Sk was named as the individual.According to reports, TMC supporters attacked Rajibul Hoque, a CPI(M) employee, in the Aushgram 2 block of Purba Bardhaman district. He passed away early in the morning while receiving medical care in a hospital.
The TMC claimed that CPI(M) supporters shot and killed one of its employees outside a voting place in the district’s Katawa neighbourhood. Goutam Roy was recognised as the dead.Voter intimidation and ballot box destruction incidents were also reported from various regions.
At a station in Baravita Govt Primary School in the Dinhata neighbourhood of Cooch Behar district, vote boxes were damaged and voting papers were set on fire. Locals set a ballot box and ballot papers on fire at another polling place in the Barnachina neighbourhood, claiming that there had been fraudulent voting.Additionally, demonstrations calling for the deployment of federal forces were held in other locations.
Female voters in Nandigram attacked a policeman while holding poison bottles and demanded that central force be sent to the region.
During his tour of North 24 Parganas, Governor CV Ananda Bose met victims of the violence and listened to their complaints.”On the way, people asked me to stop my motorcade. There were many stories to be shared; they informed me about killings that had occurred nearby, goons who would not let them into polling places, and presiding officials who would not pay attention to them. Although these are isolated incidents, even one bloodshed should worry us all, he told reporters.
The most important day for democracy is today. These are isolated cases, but they need to stop, he continued.The central forces that were brought in for the elections were a topic of discussion within the ruling TMC.
Since last night, shocking instances have been recorded. The BJP, CPI(M), and Congress had worked together to push for central forces. What location are they using? Employees of TMC are being murdered. Where are the main players? Sashi Panja, a state minister, enquired.
The BSF allegedly tried to cause havoc and sabotage the election at a border village in Cooch Behar’s Gitaldaha, according to the TMC.Voting is complete’, tweeted CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim, who posted a video of open ballot boxes lying in a field. ballot boxes in one of the booths and their state. By the way, Diamond Harbour is in this photo. For the elections, at least 600 companies of central forces and some 70,000 state police have been sent out.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state president of the BJP, posted images on Twitter, claiming that the State Election Commission (SEC) was hesitant to use the federal forces that had been sent to the state.The SEC is hesitant to use the central forces, on the one hand. In contrast, civil volunteers are sent in to help with the election. This demonstrates unequivocally how the state government and SEC deceived the judges. Is SEC tacitly aiding TMC goons in taking the booth? ” he questioned.
There are 63,229 gramme panchayat seats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats, and 928 zilla parishad seats spread over 22 districts, with the top two levels of government in Darjeeling and Kalimpong being the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the Siliguri Sub-divisional Council.All 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis, and 61,591 seats in gramme panchayats are up for election, according to the ruling TMC. The BJP has candidates running for 38,475 gramme panchayat seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats, and 897 zilla parishad seats.
The CPI(M) is running candidates for 35,411 gramme panchayat seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats, and 747 zilla parishad seats. 11,774 gramme panchayat seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats, and 644 zilla parishad seats are all up for election to the Congress.Political parties will use the election to gauge their organisational strengths and weaknesses in advance of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in addition to getting a general sense of how the state is feeling after two years of the TMC government’s third consecutive term.
