Rampant violence took place during the Panchayat elections in West Bengal on Saturday. Following these events, a re-vote was held on Monday at 696 booths in the state. Minor incidents aside, the re-polling across 19 districts was largely peaceful.
Late Monday night, violent clashes between TMC and BJP supporters broke out outside a counting center in Cooch Behar. At the Dinhata counting center in the same district, tensions escalated between BJP's Ajay Roy and TMC's Udayan Guha, leading to violence.
Counting Today
Tuesday is the designated day for the counting of votes. Following Monday's voting, officials reported delays in the start of voting at some booths due to late arrival of ballot boxes. Additional time was also granted to these booths to complete the voting process. The counting of votes, including those cast during the re-polling, will take place on July 11th.
West Bengal Governor C.V. Anand Bose met with President Draupadi Murmu on Monday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier in the day, Bose had met with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to inform him about the violence that occurred during the Panchayat elections in West Bengal two days prior.
According to reports, there have been 37 deaths in West Bengal related to the Panchayat elections. Incidents of violence have unfolded in various districts.
The Governor of West Bengal has traveled to Delhi to submit a report on the election violence to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
