West Bengal rural poll violence: 6 more killed, death toll reaches 48
Mamata Banerjee claimed that 19 people died in poll-related violence and announced compensation for the families of the deceased.
Kolkata: At least six deaths were reported from across West Bengal on Wednesday even as counting of votes for the three-tier panchayat elections continued, taking the toll to 48 in alleged poll-related violence since June 8 when the rural polls were announced, police officers familiar with the matter said.
Read here: Panchayat poll results subject to court’s final orders: Calcutta HC
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress (TMC) has swept the panchayat elections, however, claimed that 19 people died in poll-related violence since June 8. She announced ₹2 lakh ex gratia each to the next of kin of the deceased and a job in home guard to one family member.
Police officers, requesting anonymity, have pegged the number of poll violence-related deaths in the state to 48, including six on Wednesday.
Three people, including two Indian Secular Front (ISF) workers, were killed and several police personnel injured in Bhangore block of South 24 Parganas district after a clash broke out late on Tuesday night outside a centre where counting of votes was going on, police said. The deceased were identified as Rezaul Gazi and Hasan Mollah — both ISF workers — and one Raju Mollah, a local resident, police said.
Two TMC workers, one each in Basanti in South Parganas and Ratua in Malda, were found dead on Wednesday while a Congress worker in Murshidabad, who was injured in an earlier attack, died during treatment in a hospital on Wednesday, officers said.
“I don’t support violence. West Bengal is being maligned,” chief minister Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat, accusing the opposition parties for attacks. “I didn’t say a word for long. But there is a limit to everything. The polls were held in more than 70,000 booths, but violence took place in not more than 60 booths. The opposition planned the attacks. We abided by all court directions.”
The TMC chief also appealed for peace and harmony in the aftermath of the panchayat polls.
Read here: ‘You shamed democracy’: BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad to CM Mamata on poll result
“I express my condolences. Nineteen people have been killed. They are the victims of circumstances,” Banerjee said, adding that most clashes took place in Malda and Murshidabad districts. “Police have been given a free hand to take actions. The state government has decided to pay ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each and the job of a home guard to the next of kin of the deceased.”
The TMC, which returned to power for the third consecutive time in the state with a massive mandate in 2021, has swept the rural polls. The party won 42,005 of the state’s 73,887 seats across the three tiers — zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats till 5 pm on Wednesday, when counting of paper ballots was on.
The party has won 34,980 of the 63,229 gram panchayat seats and was leading in 570 seats, according to the state poll body. It has also won 6,467 of the 9,728 panchayat samiti seats while leading in 184 seats, and 685 of the 928 zila parishad seats while leading in 144 seats, SEC said.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to wrest sizeable number of seats but came a distant second winning 9,735 gram panchayat seats, 990 panchayat samiti seats and 21 zilla parishad seats. The party was leading in 142 gram panchayat seats, 48 panchayat samiti and six zilla parishad seats.
Meanwhile, a four-member BJP team from Delhi, led by former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, arrived in the eastern state on Wednesday to visit violence-hit areas before submitting a report to party president JP Nadda.
“Mamata Banerjee has shamed democracy in Bengal,” Prasad told reporters. “We had immense respect for Mamataji. She defeated the 34-year-old Left regime. Today, I want to remind her about her evolution in Bengal and national politics. Unfortunately, her government has crossed the records of the Left regarding misrule, anarchy and lawlessness in the state.”
The TMC, however, said that the team’s visit was at attempt to divert attention away from the BJP’s humiliating defeat. “More than 150 teams and commissions have been sent to the state in the last few years,” chief minister Banerjee said. “There is a protocol. The BJP sends teams at the drop of a hat and utilises agencies. A country can’t be run like this. You need patience.”
Read here: BJP delegation to visit poll violence-hit areas in West Bengal today
The Calcutta high court has already ordered that central forces should be retained in the state for at least 10 days after the poll results are announced to prevent post-poll clashes. More than 800 companies of central forces have bene deployed in the state.