At least nine people have been killed so far amid polling for the West Bengal panchayat elections on Saturday, 8 July.
As many as 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in the election – polling for which began at 7 am on Saturday.
Violence on polling day: Hours after the polling commenced, five Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers and one worker each of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress, and a supporter of an independent candidate were killed in clashes, news agency PTI reported.
A TMC worker named Sateshuddin Sheikh was killed in the Murshidabad district of the state. The polling agent of a BJP candidate was also killed in an attack by a group of people, and the candidate, named Maya Barman, herself injured.
“TMC goons hurled a bomb at my agent and killed him. They also attacked me,” Barman told news agency ANI.
A TMC worker was also killed allegedly during a clash between the ruling party and Congress workers in the Nadia district.
A booth agent of an independent candidate was killed in Pirgachha in the state’s North 24 Parganas district. Locals alleged that the husband of TMC candidate Munna Bibi was behind the murder, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, the the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged that their candidates were attacked by rival parties.
On Friday, the TMC had claimed that three of its workers had been killed in a fresh escalation of violence in the state.
The ruling party also pointed fingers at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and CPI(M) – which had been demanding the deployment of Central forces in the state for the Panchayat polls.
“The @BJP4Bengal @CPIM_WESTBENGAL and @INCWestBengal have been clamouring for the deployment of Central Forces. So, where are the Central Forces when they are needed the most? This signals a colossal failure on their part to ensure the safety and security of the people, before the polls have even commenced!” the party added.
As many as 73,000 seats are up for grabs in the high-octane panchayat polls.
