Amid widespread violence and killings, polling for the West Bengal panchayat elections began at 7 am on Saturday. Around 5.67 crore voters in the state’s rural areas are eligible to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for 73,887 seats, including–928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities, and 63,229 gram panchayats seats. The polling began amid tight security as sporadic incidents of violence were reported across the state after the election dates were announced on June 8, resulting in the deaths of over 15 people.
The stakes are high for the rural local body elections in West Bengal on Saturday, as they will indicate the mood of the voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and could alter the state’s political dynamics. The polls, which will cover nearly 928 seats in 22 district councils, 9,730 seats in block councils, and 63,229 seats in village councils, will see around 5.67 crore voters cast their ballots. The voting will begin at 7am and conclude at 5pm. The counting of votes is scheduled on July 11.
The state has witnessed a spate of violence and killings since the poll dates were announced on June 8, claiming the lives of over a dozen people, including a minor. The ruling TMC campaigned on the plank of peace and democracy, urging its workers to refrain from using force and allow space for the opposition parties.
The BJP campaigned on the issues of development and corruption. The Congress and the CPI(M)also tried to woo the voters with their promises. The Indian Secular Front (ISF), with its limited presence in parts of North and South 24 Parganas, too grabbed headlines.
“West Bengal Panchayat election has been reduced to a farce. The SEC and local police have intentionally mishandled the deployment of CAPF. SEC was always reluctant to deploy CAPF. Despite Court orders, civic volunteers are being used, there are no CCTV cameras, no recordings… Several thousand booths have inadequate security arrangement… SEC is facilitating capture of booths by TMC goons,” tweets BJP’s Amit Malviya.