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West Bengal panchayat election today amid tension; governor CV Ananda Bose hits the streets. 10 points
West bengal panchayat election 2023: State braces for violent three-tier poll seen as a litmus test for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The death toll rises to 22.
West Bengal, amid widespread violence and killings, braces for the crucial three-tier panchayat election on Saturday, which is seen as a litmus test for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Polling began at 7am and will conclude at 5pm.
As of Saturday, the death toll in the run-up to the panchayat polls in West Bengal climbed to 22 after two more persons were allegedly killed in Murshidabad district early on Saturday.
Around 5.67 crore voters are expected to cast their votes to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities, and 63,229 gram panchayats seats.
Top 10 updates on the West Bengal panchayat election:
1. The West Bengal panchayat election is likely to witness a fierce battle for control of local administrations between the ruling Trinamool Congress, Indian Secular Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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2. Since the day the polls were announced on June 8, West Bengal has reported a number of violence in various parts of the state. In the latest incident, one person, identified as Abdullah Ali, in Kadambagachi of North 24 Parganas in Murshidabad district. One more person was killed in Murshidabad district's Beldanga.
3. A polling booth was ransacked and set on fire at Dihata in Cooch Behar. On Friday, the home of a BJP candidate was allegedly attacked by TMC workers in the Kalmati area of Bamanhat II Gram Panchayat of Dinhata. The injured are currently being treated at a private hospital in Coochbehar, news agency ANI reported.
3. An incident of allegedly hurling crude bombs at a Block Development Office (BDO) in Ahmadpur, Birbhum district, was reported on Friday.
4. On Thursday night, a man identified as Aurobindo Mondol was allegedly beaten to death in the Raninagar area in Murshidabad. Family members of the deceased said Mondol was a Congress worker and was suffering from heart ailments, they blamed the TMC for his death. “He was punched and kicked. He lost consciousness and fell to the ground. He was declared dead when rushed to the hospital. The TMC was behind it,” said Annapurna Mondol, a relative of the victim. TMC leaders, however, rejected the charges.
5. West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday urged the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail. On Saturday, Bose hit the streets since the voting started. He will visit polling booths in several areas of the districts. His first halt was at North 24 Parganas. The governor described Saturday's panchayat polls as a “fight between ballots and bullets” and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.
6. The governor visited some of the violence-hit areas in Murshidabad district, including Nabagram and Khargram, on Friday where a TMC worker and a Congress worker were allegedly killed earlier, and met with the family members of workers.
7. Responding to the governor's remarks, senior TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra said he should be ousted from his post and the state, adding that he was not even a voter of West Bengal. The Kamarhati TMC MLA questioned how a sitting governor could urge people to vote for the BJP.
8. On Friday, apprehending post-poll violence, the Calcutta high court ordered that central forces, which are currently deployed in the state, should remain there for at least ten days after the poll results.
9. The Union home ministry had sanctioned 822 companies of central forces and state armed police. The state election commission on Thursday informed the high court that even though the entire 822 companies may not reach the state before polling, efforts were being made to send in maximum forces.
10. On Friday, a search operation was underway ahead of the panchayat polls, after police received information that crude bombs and weapons have been stockpiled in the district. However, they added that nothing has been found yet.
