WB panchayat polls: Parts of state witness violence over nomination filing

Clashes erupted in various areas of West Bengal following the submission of nominations for the panchayat poll scheduled on July 8. Activists from both the ruling TMC and opposition parties engaged in violent confrontations, leading the police to intervene and disperse the unruly crowd using force.

The violence over filing of nominations continued unabated for the fifth consecutive day in parts of South 24 Parganas and Bankura districts.

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Supporters of Indian Secular Front (ISF) and TMC clashed in Bhangore area of South 24 Parganas, nearly 30 km from Kolkata. A huge police contingent was rushed to the spot, which resorted to baton charge to control the situation.

Bombs were hurled and several cars were ransacked as supporters of the two parties tried to stop each other from filing nominations.

#WATCH | West Bengal | Violence erupts in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas districts as ISF (Indian Secular Front) accuses TMC of stopping its candidates from filing nominations for the panchayat elections. pic.twitter.com/FFEUzjNFs7

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

Several activists belonging to the two parties were injured, the police said.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Canning area of the district as miscreants alleged to be members of dissident groups of the TMC tried to stop the filing of nominations of the party’s official candidates.

The miscreants hurled bombs and threw stones against the Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel and police had to burst tear gas shells to quell the situation, the police said.

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Officials said that in the Indas village of Bankura BJP activists clashed with the TMC supporters outside the nomination filing centre.

Supporters of both groups came to blows and pelted stones at each other, even as police tried to control the situation in the area, which is about 135 km from the city.

Since the beginning of nomination filing on June 9, violence has marred the nomination filing process in various parts of the state, with the opposition BJP, Congress and CPI (M) accusing the TMC of using muscle power to stop candidates of opposition parties from filing nominations.

“The TMC goons unleashed violence since last night to stop our candidates from filing nominations,” ISF leader and Bhangore MLA Naushad Siddique said.

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TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh dismissed the allegations and dubbed them as “baseless”. “The ISF is trying to unleash violence in the area.”

The ruling party also asked the opposition parties to release its entire candidates list and said that if needed, it will help them to file their nominations.

The states three-tier panchayat election encompassing a significant electorate of approximately 5.67 crores, will exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 74,000 seats in zilla parishads, panchayat samiti and gram panchayats.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the requisition and deployment of central forces for the rural poll but refused to consider the plea for extending the time for filing of nominations and left it to the discretion of the State Election Commission.