WB Panchayat Polls

In a scathing attack on West Bengal's TMC government, BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday compared the violence during rural polls to the turmoil of partition. He also claimed that TMC supremo and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee portrays herself as a champion of democracy, while "undermining" it. Mocking the TMC over arrest of its leaders in corruption cases by central agencies, Nadda said the next cabinet meeting of the TMC government will be soon held in jail. "The violence and killings we witnessed during the panchayat polls are unprecedented. Is this a reflection of democracy? Is this how elections are being held under the TMC government? We have witnessed post-poll violence after the 2021 assembly polls. But the violence we witnessed during the rural polls resembled the bloody days of partition here," he said. While addressing the party's winning candidates in panchayat elections and the alleged victims of poll violence at an auditorium here, Nadda asserted that Jungle Raj

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by the NHRC challenging an order of the Calcutta High Court setting aside the human rights body's directive deputing its official for identifying sensitive constituencies and deploying micro-observers for the recently concluded panchayat polls in West Bengal. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said interference by the NHRC affected the autonomy and independence of the State Election Commission (SEC). The top court was hearing a petition filed by the NHRC challenging an order of the division bench of the high court which said the direction of the National Human Rights Commission sought to encroach upon the jurisdiction of the SEC to conduct free and fair panchayat elections. The NHRC had, by its June 12 order, deputed its director general (investigation) as a special human rights observer to give it first-hand information on incidents of violence and to conduct an on-the-spot survey of West Bengal in consultation with the SEC t

West Bengal minister Shashi Panja on Saturday alleged that BJP "goons", and not Trinamool Congress workers as claimed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had indulged in violence during rural elections held in July. The PM, while virtually addressing the BJP's Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal on Friday, criticised the ruling party in the state for using "terror and threats" to intimidate the opposition during the rural polls. "Is it because the BJP could not win the panchayat polls that terror and intimidation are being alleged? It is the BJP which indulged in violence in West Bengal," Panja said, seeking to counter the PM's accusations against the Mamata Banerjee dispensation. Asserting that Modi's accusations against the TMC government were untrue, Panja accused the BJP government at the Centre of depriving West Bengal of its financial dues under various schemes. "He does not have the time to visit Manipur, but does find time to address party workers in West Bengal," Panja ...

Further, the prime minister accused the party of threatening voters and "making their life hell"

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday alleged that violence in West Bengal during the recently concluded panchayat elections was carried out by TMC activists as per instructions of Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Thakur, who is in Kolkata to felicitate BJP's winning candidates in the rural polls, also claimed that over 57 people have been killed in clashes during the panchayat elections. He claimed that the BJP has doubled the number of seats in the rural polls as compared to the previous elections and the result is an indication that Banerjee's "days at the helm of things are numbered". "I would like to say that in the recently concluded panchayat polls, over 57 people have been killed. To fulfill Mamata Banerjee's wishes, people were killed. The entire law and order in West Bengal is in shambles. Mamata didi, your party leaders under your instruction restored to hooliganism (during this panchayat polls)," Thakur told reporters here. The

A 61-year-old Trinamool Congress worker, who was injured in a political clash at Bhangar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on the eve of the July 8 panchayat polls, died on Saturday, an official said. The TMC pointed an accusing finger at the Indian Secular Front (ISF) for the murder, but the opposition party rejected the allegation. Seikh Moslem was seriously injured in an attack with rods at Bhangar on July 7 night when he was passing a forested area, hours before the panchayat elections were to start. He succumbed in a private hospital in Kolkata, the official said. TMC MLA from Canning Purba, Saukat Molla, who is entrusted with overseeing party activity in Bhangar, alleged that Moslem was attacked without any provocation by ISF activists who have unleashed a reign of terror in the area. Bhangar is a strong-hold area of the ISF and the party's lone MLA is also from that constituency. ISF legislator Nawsad Siddique denied involvement of his party workers in any violenc

Manik Saha highlighted that in the 2023 Assembly elections, Tripura set a remarkable precedent by holding elections without any violence or disruptions

The final results of the West Bengal panchayat elections are likely to be declared on July 17, as the compilation process is taking a lot of time, a senior official said on Friday. Results of a number of seats in the three tiers of the panchayat polls held on July 8 were out, but the final tally has not yet been released by the State Election Commission (SEC). The counting process which began on July 11 is over, but the compilation is still underway, the official told PTI. "There are a total of 71,000 seats, so one can understand the mammoth task of compiling the results. Besides, the process has become slow because of some technical issues. We are hoping to release the results on Monday," he said. The state poll panel has countermanded the panchayat polls in 20 booths in three districts because of various malpractices during the counting process. Fresh voting will be held in those booths at a later date to be notified in due course. According to the results declared so far, the .

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday steamrolled to a massive victory in West Bengal's violence-scarred rural polls, bagging all zila parishads and leaving its rivals trailing way behind in results declared by the State Election Commission. The TMC won all 20 Zila Parishads in the three-tier panchayat system, winning a straight 880 seats, while its nearest rival BJP won 31 seats out of 928 seats. The Congress-Left front alliance won 15 seats while others won 2 remining seats. The TMC has won over 35,000 gram panchayat seats, out of the 63,219 gram panchayat seats. However though the counting was over exact figures were not known as compilation and dissemination process was not complete said officials. The ruling party's nearest rival BJP has won nearly 10,000 seats. While the Left-Congress alliance won over approximately 6,000 seats. It was TMC's aim discussed in party inner circles that the party win bigtime in the rural polls but without resorting to violence, in a manne

A BJP fact-finding team, which arrived in West Bengal on Wednesday, said it will visit areas hit by poll violence and speak to victims to assess the ground situation. The four-member team led by former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it plans to visit north and south Bengal districts. Violence and killings during rural polls are unacceptable. So many people have been killed; why have so many people had to die in this election? We will visit the violence-hit areas of north and south Bengal. Later, we will submit our report to our national president JP Nadda, Prasad told reporters at the airport. Besides Prasad, the team includes Satyapal Singh, Rajdeep Roy, and Rekha Verma. The violence, which rocked the panchayat polls on Saturday, had claimed at least 15 lives while three more were murdered on counting day on Wednesday. Since elections were announced last month, at least 33 people have lost their lives in poll-related violence, with the ruling party suffering 60 per cent o

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday looked poised to sweep to a massive victory in violence-scarred rural polls in Bengal as the overnight count of ballots gave it an unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission. The ruling TMC has won in 34,359 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 752 seats, according to the SEC as of 8 am on Wednesday. Its nearest rival BJP has won 9,545 seats and is leading in 180 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats. The CPI( M) has won 2,885 and is leading in 96 seats. The Congress won 2,498 seats and is leading in 72. The counting though largely peaceful was marred by stray incidents including bombs being hurled in Bhangar, a spot where there had been deaths in the run-up to election, leading to firing by central forces and state police on Tuesday night on an unruly mob which resulted in injuries including on ISF supporters and policemen including an IPS officer. The ruling TMC

Alleging the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of fabricating the results, State BJP Chief Majumdar said that he will be opting for legal action in the matter

TMC looked set to sweep the violence-scarred rural polls keeping intact the mandate it won two years back during the assembly polls by taking a seemingly unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission. The ruling TMC has won in 18,606 gram panchayat seats out of the 27,985 seats declared, besides leading in 8,180 seats, according to the SEC as of 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Its nearest rival BJP has won 4,482 seats and is leading in 2,419 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats. The Left Front has won 1,502 seats, of which the CPI(M) alone has won 1,424. The Left is currently leading in 969 seats. The Congress won 1,073 seats and is leading in 693. Other parties won 476 seats and led in 208 seats, while independents which included TMC rebels won 1,060 seats and led in 466 seats. Candidates tied for 785 seats so far. The ruling TMC won 118 Panchayat samiti seats while leading 782 seats. BJP has drawn a blank till now though it

Early trends indicate that the Trinamool Congress is leading in over 2,229 gram panchayat seats in West Bengal while the BJP is ahead in 664 seats, State Election Commission officials said on Tuesday. The CPI(M) is currently leading in over 460 gram panchayat seats followed by its ally Congress in 168, they said. The ruling TMC is also leading in 28 seats of gram samities, SEC officials said. "These are unofficial figures, we will make an official announcement later," a poll official told PTI. The counting of votes for the three-tier panchayat polls to nearly 74,000 seats in West Bengal began in a peaceful manner amid tight security, officials said. There are around 339 counting venues spread across 22 districts. The maximum number of counting centres was in South 24 Parganas at 28, while the minimum was in Kalimpong at four. Some northern districts are also facing inclement weather. "The counting, which began at 8 am, is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take ti

Services were affected in Kolkata as migrants employed in sectors ranging from domestic work to hospitality and transport went to their homes in villages to cast their vote in the West Bengal panchayat elections, and many are yet to rejoin work. Kolkata, being a fully urban area, is the lone district in the state which did not go to the rural polls. Commuters also faced a harrowing time as many buses and other vehicles were requisitioned for election duty. Restaurants and street food joints were also affected due to the exercise. Shiladitya Choudhury, owner of a chain of restaurants in the city, said, "On the polling day on Saturday (July 8), we barely managed with only around 40 per cent of the staffers. We had kept our menu short on that day." Owner of a roadside eatery in Salt Lake Sector V, the IT hub of the city, said pressure had mounted on his stall not only because some of his workers had left but also because other nearby shacks were shut. "The number of items had to be

The decision to hold re-polling followed widespread allegations of ballot box tampering and violence, resulting in losing at least 19 lives

All counting venues will be manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents

The three-tier panchayat elections in 20 out of 30 districts witnessed widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging

No major incident was reported as fresh polling was underway in nearly 700 booths in 19 districts of West Bengal where voting for the panchayat elections was declared void, officials said. The repolling was ordered in 696 booths by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening amid allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence that left 15 people dead, they said. The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Till 1 pm, 30.54 per cent voter turnout was recorded. Voting started late in a few booths as ballot boxes did not reach on time, officials said. These booths will be given extra time to complete the polling, they said. "No major untoward incidents were reported from the districts where repolling is underway. A couple of stray incidents happened and those were managed by the police," an SEC official said. In Malda, locals blocked a booth in Dogachi in Raniganj panchayat i

As repolling is in progress in nearly 700 booths for panchayat elections on Monday, the BJP accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of not giving importance to the thousands of booths where voting should have been conducted again. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he is collecting evidence of alleged malpractice in several thousands of booths during the polling on Saturday and, armed with these, will move the Calcutta High Court. "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," Adhikari told reporters. The West Bengal SEC has announced that repolling will be held in 696 booths across the state, where voting for the rural elections was declared void following reports of vote-tampering and violence. "Our list has apparently been overlooked by SEC Rajiva Sinha and we are not surprised