Kolkata: Several incidents of clashes had been reported from completely different components of West Bengal on Monday, as unidentified miscreants allegedly attacked opposition candidates whereas they had been on their technique to file nomination papers for the panchayat polls, a senior official mentioned.
The clashes had been reported in Daspur (Paschim Medinipur), Kakdwip (South 24 Parganas), Raninagar (Murshidabad), Saktinagar and Barshul (each in Purba Bardhaman) and Minakhan (North 24 Parganas), he mentioned.
The ruling Trinamool Congress accused the opposition events of forming an “unholy nexus” to delay the elections and tarnish the state’s picture as a result of concern of defeat.
Opposition BJP, Congress, and CPI(M), alternatively, alleged that their candidates have been prevented by TMC activists from submitting nomination papers in numerous districts and argued that with out the deployment of central forces, it’s unattainable to have peaceable and truthful elections within the state.
A CPI(M) social gathering workplace at Minakhan in Basirhat subdivision was “vandalised” and the candidate was “assaulted” by the miscreants when he was going to file his nomination, the official mentioned.
In one other incident at Sonamukhi in Bankura district, BJP MLA Dibakar Gharami was allegedly attacked by unidentified folks as he was heading to the nomination centre.
“Several such incidents of clashes have been reported, and we have sought details in this regard from the DMs and SPs,” the senior State Election Commission (SEC) official informed PTI.
The growth comes on a day the SEC directed all district magistrates and superintendents of police to impose prohibitory orders beneath Section 144 of the CRPC in a one-km radius of all nomination centres.
The orders, which had been issued on Sunday, will likely be in pressure until Thursday. The panchayat polls are scheduled to be held on July 8. The SEC official mentioned over 10,000 nomination papers have been filed to date.
Meanwhile, the SEC on Monday informed the Calcutta High Court that it may possibly lengthen the final date of submitting nominations for the panchayat polls by a day to June 16.
After listening to petitions of opposition leaders for an extension of the date for submitting nominations and deployment of central forces for the July 8 polls, the courtroom had on June 9 noticed that the time given for submitting papers is prima facie insufficient.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh mentioned, “The fact is that the opposition the BJP, CPI (M), and the Congress — were trying to delay the panchayat polls out of the fear of defeat and their inability to put up candidates in all seats. We challenge them to publish the list of their candidates for all seats.”
Mocking the opposition for complaining about lack of time to file nominations, Ghosh mentioned, “If they can’t find candidates, we will provide them with one. The unholy nexus of the BJP, Congress and the CPI(M) is trying to malign the state by disturbing the peaceful law and order situation in the state.”
“The SEC is working like a frontal organisation of the TMC. With the deployment of central forces, free and fair elections are not possible in West Bengal. The TMC wants to turn this panchayat election into a farce, just like 2018,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya mentioned.
In the 2018 rural polls, the TMC received 90 per cent of the Panchayat seats within the state and all 22 Zila Parishads. However, these elections had been marred by widespread violence and malpractices, with the opposition alleging they had been prevented from submitting nominations in lots of seats.
State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury mentioned the folks of West Bengal can solid their votes provided that central forces are deployed. “The TMC just wants to loot the public mandate, and the SEC and the state police are just working as its frontal organizations,” he mentioned.
In 2013, the panchayat polls had been held with central forces stationed at each polling sales space within the state. Despite their deployment, the TMC, which had been in energy for 2 years then, received over 85 % of the seats, with the opposition alleging malpractices.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim mentioned, “We strongly condemn the terror tactics adopted by the TMC to derail the democratic process by unleashing violence on opposition candidates filing nominations for the upcoming panchayat elections.”
Elections will likely be held for almost 75,000 seats within the three-tier Panchayati Raj system on July 8. The nomination course of, which started on Friday, would proceed until June 15, SEC had introduced final week.
