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Opinion polls in a panchayat marred by deadly violence left at least 12 people dead and several injured in West Bengal on Saturday, amid allegations of widespread electoral malpractice. Among the dead were seven workers from the ruling Trinamool Congress, two from the Communist Party of China (CPC), one each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, and one person with no political affiliation, officials said, adding that the men were hacked, shot or beaten. by improvised bombs.
The day also saw several instances of booth grabbing, ballot boxes destroyed and key officers being assaulted from several districts like Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia. There were also reports of the use of improvised bombs in several parts of the state to disrupt the electoral process.
Polling started at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state, with Rs 5.67 crore deciding the fate of about 2.06 lakh candidates.
According to the state election commission, about 68.28 percent of polling had been registered as of 5 p.m., when polling stations closed, though the number could rise as many people were still queuing at the booths.
With the situation across the state spiraling out of control, Governor CV Ananda Bose, who for the past few weeks has been trading barbs with TMC, has headed out to assess the law and order situation. After visiting a hospital in Parganas North District 24 where some injured people were taken, he urged the State Elections Commissioner Rajiva Sinha to fulfill his constitutional duties.
“I am told that there have been murders, that gunshots have been heard, and that people are being beaten to death. Yes, these are stray cases, but even one instance where blood is being shed should alarm us all. This is the most sacred day for a democracy, when the right It is for the common man in the street to vote according to the constitution. Elections must be conducted without violence. Whenever I received complaints, I forwarded them to the appropriate authorities – ie the State Elections Commissioner. In all fairness, I can say that I got an immediate response from him. Today I want to tell people to go out and vote. Please practice Your right. Only your vote can solve the situation. “Vote according to your conscience,” he said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tore the transitional military council apart from the violence and said the SEC had failed to conduct the elections in a free and fair manner. Opposition leader in the state assembly Sovendu Adhikari called for the president’s rule to be imposed.
“West Bengal is burning and central government should intervene in Article 355 or Article 356 (Chief’s Rule). More than 20,000 stalls have been seized by ruling party rioters in the presence of police. This is nothing but killing of democracy. CAPF is not working due to lack of District police cooperated.“They were not used properly,” Adhikari said.
BJP National President JP Nada also contacted BJP State Chief Sukanta Majumdar and asked him to provide a detailed report on the violence. The Ministry of the Interior requested a report. “The central leaders are shocked to see such incidents of violence and poor electoral practices,” Majumdar said.
On the other hand, the Trinamool Congress wondered where the Central Powers would stand in the elections. Horrific incidents have been reported since last night. The BJP, CPI(M) and Congress colluded, claiming central powers. Where do they spread? TMC workers are killed. Where are the central forces? asked Minister of State Shashi Banga.
The party also claimed that in a border village in Jitalda district of Cooch Behar state, members of the Syrian security force tried to create chaos and disrupt the polling process.
Meanwhile, CPI(M)Md Salim, Secretary of State, shared a video of open ballot boxes dumped in a field and tweeted: “Voting over! Ballot condition, ballot boxes in a booth. BTW this photo is from Diamond Harbour.”
Reports of deaths in election-related violence began pouring in from the same morning.
Among the dead was Bharatiya Janata Party polling agent Madhab from Cooch Behar district. He was allegedly shot dead inside a polling station. Another youth, Chiranjit Karji, was allegedly shot dead in the same area.
Rajib Ul Haq, a CPM worker who was seriously injured the previous evening following a clash between two faction workers in East Burdwan district, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in Kolkata on Saturday morning. Roshan Ali, another CPM worker, was killed in Lalgola in Murshidabad district while standing outside a polling station.
Trinamool supporter Amzad Hussain was allegedly hacked to death in Chhabra district of Nadia district, while another party worker, Aneesor Ustagar, was killed in an explosion in a polling line in South 24 Parganas district.
Three people were killed in Murshidabad district. Among them was Yassin Sheikh, who was wounded by an improvised explosive device. The body of TMC member Sabir al-Din Sheikh was recovered from an empty lot in the morning, and police said he was hacked to death. Congress worker Haji Nayakat Ali was killed in an improvised explosive device.
Police said Malik Sheikh, brother of the TMC leader, was killed in a clash in Malda district, while TMC candidate Muhammad Shaheen Shah was hacked to death in northern Dinajpur district.
The TMC also alleged that one of its workers, Gautam Roy, was killed outside a polling station in East Burdwan district.
Reports also poured in of ballot boxes being destroyed and voters intimidated. And in Dinhata in Cooch Behar district, ballot boxes were vandalized and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth at Paravita Government Primary School. At another booth in Barnachina, local residents set fire to a ballot box with ballot papers, claiming that the workers of the Transitional Military Council had conducted a sham vote.
Protests also took place in different regions to demand the deployment of central forces. In Nandigram, female voters beat a police officer with bottles of poison in their hands, and threatened to kill them unless the central force was deployed.
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