West Bengal panchayat elections LIVE UPDATES: Re-polling underway at 697 booths in 19 districts
West Bengal panchayat elections LIVE UPDATES: The repolling will be held till 5 pm amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each of those booths.
West Bengal panchayat elections LIVE UPDATES: The State Election Commission (SEC) announced re-polling to be conducted in 697 booths spread across 19 districts today following the violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal on July 8. The repolling will be held till 5 pm amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each of those booths. The SEC passed the order after going through reports of vote-tampering and violence which affected polling in many places. A total of 15 people were killed and several injured in violence reported across the state during the panchayat poll. The three-tier panchayat elections in 20 out of 30 districts were marked by widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging. There were reports of booth capturing, damaging of ballot boxes and assault of presiding officers from several districts such as Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia.
Voters show satisfaction over forces’ deployment in Murshidabad
#WATCH | West Bengal panchayat election re-poll | Voters queue up outside the polling booth at Tikiapara Primary High School in Murshidabad to cast their votes.
A voter, Anjana Majumdar says, “The first day there were no central forces. There were just three Police personnel.… pic.twitter.com/aPupguHwj3
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2023
Voters queued up outside the polling booth at Tikiapara Primary High School in Murshidabad to cast their votes. A voter, Anjana Majumdar says, “The first day there were no central forces. There were just three Police personnel. Today, we are happy to see the central forces here, we will be able to cast votes properly and go home.”
Another voter, Anamika Mandal says, “Today, it feels like an election day. We can see the central forces today.”
Bengal Governor likely to meet Amit Shah today over violence in state
#WATCH | West Bengal panchayat election re-poll | Voters queue up outside the polling booth at Tikiapara Primary High School in Murshidabad to cast their votes.
A voter, Anjana Majumdar says, “The first day there were no central forces. There were just three Police personnel.… pic.twitter.com/aPupguHwj3
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2023
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is likely to call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today over the widespread violence during the panchayat polls in the state. Multiple incidents of violence were reported on the polling day (July 8) casting a long shadow on the conduct of the panchayat polls across the state.
Protests over panchayat polls turn violent in different parts of state
Protests were held in different parts of the state on Sunday (July 9) against the violence that rocked the panchayat elections and over allegations of irregularities. BJP supporters staged a demonstration outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata. Security was beefed up in the area as the protestors shouted slogans against the SEC over the alleged “inability” of the poll panel to conduct the elections peacefully.
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