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Toll in Bengal panchayat poll violence reaches 10, BJP to move SC

A vehicle that was set on fire after violence during the panchayat elections in Nadia district | PTI

Ten people have died so far on Monday in one of the most violence-ridden elections ever in West Bengal. Ballot papers were looted, burned and destroyed. The deaths were reported from five districts.

The three-tier panchayat polls happened after the state government and state election commission had promised the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court to provide enough security.

Out of around 65,000 booths, voting is taking place in around 48, 000 booths as 36 per cent of the total seats were declared to have been won by TMC candidates uncontested because of no nominations from other parties. The Supreme Court, last week, expressed its surprise and asked the West Bengal state election commission not to declare any winners in those seats. The court would, on July 3, assess whether other parties were forced not to participate in the election or not.

Opposition parties, led by the BJP, are all set to knock on the door of the Supreme Court against the violence.

“It was not at all an election but a farce. The North Bengal development minister was even seen slapping our agent in a poll booth. We would demand his removal from the state cabinet,” said Dilip Ghosh, president of the West Bengal BJP.

A couple of CPI(M) workers were allegedly burnt to death by Trinamool Congress workers in the Kakdwip area of South 24 Parganas district. In the same district at Kultuli, a TMC worker was allegedly murdered by a group of SUCI workers.

In Nandigram, two CPI(M) workers were gunned down as they went to protect the polling stations.

State election commission says that, in more than 20 booths, voting was held up because of violence.

Out of 10 people who died, eight are from the opposition parties and two are from the Trinamool Congress.

The CPI(M) has alleged that instead of the police, civic police volunteers have been taking up the duty of guarding polling booths.

“Even in many booths, polling officers were fired at. They ran for their lives. It’s not an election but tragedy,” said Biman Bose, Left Front chairman in West Bengal.

The state election commission has sought a detailed report from almost all district magistrates regarding incidents of deaths, booth rigging and attacks on the voters.

“The commission would examine each and every complaint and would act accordingly,” said an officer of the commission.

The commission has also sought a report on the incident of North Bengal Minister Rabindranath Ghosh slapping a BJP polling agent by entering into a polling booth illegally.