Following the start of voting in West Bengal’s single-phase panchayat elections on Saturday morning, the Trinamool Congress claimed that three of its party members had been killed in many acts of violence.
“Shocking and tragic incidents send shockwaves through the voting community. Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol,” tweeted TMC. In a long Twitter post, TMC took on central forces for failing to ensure the safety and security of the people.
Since the election dates were made public on June 8, the state has been engulfed in violence. A house was vandalised in Murshidabad in the most recent flashpoint barely hours before the panchayat elections when the workers of the Trinamool Congress and Congress came to blows on Friday night. The state has experienced numerous violent occurrences leading up to the panchayat elections.
Khela hobe 😬 Bengal has always had poll violence since eternity but didi has made it far worse it appears. This is just panchayat elections 🙂 #WestBengal https://t.co/YOoeAtgF4w
— R. (@innsaei_07) July 8, 2023
The BJP and the TMC, which control local governments, are expected to engage in a fierce power struggle in the elections, which will serve as a litmus test for both parties before the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Nearly 928 seats in 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats, and 63,239 gramme panchayat seats will be decided by approximately 5.67 crore voters using their right to vote.
Where is the Election Comm , Home Ministry, Gov and CM of WB – These are sickening and @HMOIndia @AmitShah @ECISVEEP @BengalGovernor @MamataOfficial
WB govt should be held responsible for every political violence and K!lling . 🤬🤬🤬#BengalViolence #PanchayatElection2023 https://t.co/koOn958h3P
— Ruma_Deb 🇮🇳 (@Ruma_DSG009) July 6, 2023
3,341 gramme panchayats and 58,594 village panchayat election centres are located in West Bengal. The Gramme Panchayat level has 63,239 seats, the Panchayat Samiti level has 9730 members, and the Zila Parishad level has 928 seats. On July 11, there will be a vote count.
