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West Bengal panchayat polls: Political clashes continue in the state
While TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy claimed that BJP-backed goons attacked their party office, local BJP leader Sukumar Roy alleged that TMC workers attacked them
Politically motivated clashes continued in some pockets of West Bengal ahead of the crucial three-tier panchayat elections scheduled for July 8, as a fresh skirmish broke out between workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar on Wednesday.
Locals claimed that at least two rounds of bullets were fired, and a motorcycle was also torched.
Just 24 hours prior to that, a TMC worker was shot dead, and six others sustained bullet injuries at Dinhata in the same district on Tuesday morning. Later that night, a TMC candidate’s brother was shot at when he was returning home after attending a wedding.
While TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy claimed that BJP-backed goons attacked their party office, local BJP leader Sukumar Roy alleged that TMC workers attacked them.
Also Read:Bengal panchayat elections: Why didn’t candidates approach SEC over clashes, says HC
Meanwhile, opposition parties have alleged that duplicate ballot papers were being printed to rig the elections.
“Duplicate ballot papers are being printed. These would be used on polling day to replace the actual ballot papers when ballot boxes are on the way to the strong room from the polling booth. A dangerous game is being played out in the state. The TMC wants to replace the people’s mandate with duplicate ballot papers to ensure victory,” Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
“We are getting multiple complaints. It is hard to catch anyone read-handed if someone prints extra ballot papers,” state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed.
The TMC, however, hit back saying that the Congress and the BJP were trying to find alibis because the opposition knows that they will lose in the polls.
“A bad workman blames his tools. The Congress failed to secure any seat in the 2021 assembly polls even after multi-phase elections, polls being held by ECI and deployment of large contingents of central forces. He is trying to find alibis for his upcoming failure,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
