West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023 LIVE: Repolling ends at 696 polling booths

West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023 LIVE: Repolling ends at 697 polling booths

On re-polling day of the Panchayat elections, 35 crude bombs were recovered from a pond and a field in Beldanga area of Murshidabad. A team of bomb disposal squad immediately reached the spot along with the local Police to neutralise the bombs. Read more

BJP constitutes a four-member fact-finding committee to visit the violence-affected areas in West Bengal. The panel comprises BJP MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad, Satyapal Singh, Rajdeep Roy and Rekha Verma. 

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh alleged that the violence on the election day was perpetrated by opposition parties. "It is TMC that has suffered the most due to this opposition-sponsored violence. Central forces did not arrive despite requisition by the SEC. Today's poll has been peaceful and it proves that SEC has taken steps to control the situation," he said.

"We had submitted a list of 6,000 booths to the SEC recommending repoll. Actually, false voting had taken place in 18,000 booths at the behest of the Trinamool Congress. We are collecting more evidence... video footage and everything," Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters

A woman was caught on camera making another voter cast her vote while being present with her throughout the process at a polling booth in Jalpaiguri. 

BJP demands repoll again under court supervision. "BJP workers are not able to enter their houses. They (TMC) are doing a farce in the name of elections. Election should be held again under the supervision of the court," says BJP leader Rahul Sinha

A bulk of polling booths where re-polling was underway were in Murshidabad (175), followed by Malda (109), Nadia (89), Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), North Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36) and East Midnapore (31). The counting of votes will be held on Tuesday. Read more

Union minister Nisith Pramanik met BJP workers injured in Saturday's poll violence. The BJP has accused ruling Trinamool Congress of carrying out violent attacks during the voting.

TMC alleges attack on party functionary in Tamluk by BJP cadre. “It's outrageous that BJP, which deployed Central forces for maintaining 'law & order' during Panchayat elections, is resorting to gross violence, just one day later”, the party tweeted.

West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar hit out at ruling Trinamool Congress, accusing it of publishing ‘manufactured’ data on the state. 

Among the districts where repolling was being held, violence-hit Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 109, they added.

Voters queue outside polling booth in Tikiapara in Murshidabad to cast their votes

The SEC in an official release on Sunday said, “The West Bengal State Election Commission in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by sub-section-3 and sub-section-4 of Section-67 of the said Act, hereby fixes 10th day of July 2023, as the date of taking the fresh polls at 7:00 hours to be continued upto 17:00 hours uninterruptedly till completion and direct the District Panchayat Election Officer to fix the polling station at which polls will be taken.”

Outside a polling booth in South 24 Parganas, SDPO Canning Dibakar Das told ANI, “There are proper arrangements. Punjab Police gave us 10 constables and an officer, and so did West Bengal Police. I too, have a reserve of 52 constables and two officers with me...We have enough deployment today and voters are already lining up.”

Voters queue up outside a polling booth in Jalpaiguri district to exercise their franchise amid heavy rainfall. 

Re-polling for the 2023 West Bengal Panchayat elections in 697 booths spread across 19 districts is underway.