KOLKATA: Fears of a bloodbath and large-scale violence turned out to be true on the day of the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal as the electoral exercise to decide who will dominate the state's rural political landscape for the next five years claimed the lives of 12 people including a TMC candidate for a gram panchayat seat and a BJP polling agent.
During the course of the elections in 73,887 seats involving 2.06 lakh candidates, several activists of political parties received injuries when bullets were fired, bombs were hurled and attacks were carried out by rivals with sticks and sharp weapons.
Though the State Election Commission (SEC) did not give any official figures on the death toll on the day of the rural polls, reports from the districts revealed seven of the victims were identified as workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress who faced strong resistance from the opposition both in north and south Bengal districts. Two BJP supporters, two CPI(M) activists and a Congress supporter were also killed in the violence on Saturday.
With Bengal witnessing clashes between political parties ever since the announcement of the date for the rural polls, the death toll in the violence before and on the day of the election has gone up to 31 in the past one month.
BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar was contacted by the office of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “I was asked about the violence during the panchayat elections. I will submit a written report,” said Majumdar.
ALSO READ | Bengal Governor takes stock of panchayat polls, meets bomb-attack victim
Polling remained suspended in 1,043 booths out of 61,636 as ballot papers and ballot boxes were snatched and either thrown into nearby ponds or set ablaze.
When the opposition alleged that the central force was not utilised properly by the state poll panel, Chief Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha said the poll body requisitioned 837 companies of the Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) but only 649 were available on the day of the election. The rest were on their way to the state, he added, without disclosing the total number of deaths on Saturday.
The BSF, which is part of the central team, sent a letter to the SEC stating that though they had sought information on the sensitive booths, nothing was shared.
"If the proper list of sensitive areas had been provided, then the deployment of central forces would had been easier," a BSF official said.
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose visited a number areas in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. "This is the most sacred day for democracy. Election must be through ballots and not bullets. It should cause concern to all of us," he said, urging people to come out and exercise their franchise.
TMC minister Shashi Panja said incidents took place at around 60 booths. “Elections were held peacefully in 13-14 districts out of 22. Many were in favour of the deployment of CAPF but the central force personnel were seen influencing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of a particular political party,” she alleged. At many places, ballot papers were either snatched or destroyed allegedly by the ruling TMC activists, polling booths were vandalised and presiding officers were manhandled and intimidated in the absence of central force personnel though the Calcutta High Court had ordered deployment of CAPF in all booths in equal ratio with their state counterparts. A ballot box was seen set ablaze in Cooch Behar’s Dinhata and a youth was spotted fleeing with a ballot box in his arms at Mathabhanga in the same district. The presiding officer in a booth in Birbhum’s Mayureshwar was seen crying after the polling station was vandalised and ballots were looted.
In Raninagar, Murshidabad, policemen were seen aiming guns while dispersing TMC supporters assembled in front of a booth.
At many booths, casting of votes were over within two hours in the morning and opposition parties alleged the TMC’s men enjoyed a free hand to cast false votes and forced the presiding officers to seal the ballot box.
Referring to the deaths of two BJP workers, the saffron camp’s state president tweeted, “Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the Central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas?”
District wise deaths:
Murshidabad: 4 (2 TMC, 1 CP(M), 1 Congress)
Cooch Behar: 2 (BJP)
North Dinajpur: 1 (TMC)
Malda: 1 (TMC)
Nadia: 1 (TMC)
East Burdwan: 2 (1 CPI(M), 1 TMC)
South 24 Parganas: 1 (TMC)
