In widespread violence on Saturday, at least 12 people were killed and numerous more were injured, including a Trinamool Congress candidate for a gramme panchayat seat and a BJP polling agent, as Bengal went to the polls to determine who will dominate the state’s rural landscape.
During the three-tier panchayat elections, bombs were thrown, gunshots were fired, and opponents were attacked with clubs and sharp weapons. There are a total of 2.06 lakh contestants vying for 73,887 seats. Polling was halted in 1,043 of the total 61,636 booths when ballot papers and ballot boxes were stolen and either thrown into a nearby pond or set ablaze.
Ballot boxes were allegedly set ablaze in Cooch Behar’s Dinhata, and a boy was seen running with a ballot box in his arms in the same district’s Mathabhanga. After the polling station in Birbhum’s Mayureshwar was vandalised and votes were looted, the presiding officer was spotted crying.In Murshidabad’s Raninagar, police officers were spotted pointing weapons at Trinamool supporters gathered in front of a booth.
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