Counting of Panchayat Elections is underway in West Bengal, India. Counting begins at 8 am on Tuesday. Sporadic violence was also reported from different places in the center of the polling day-like counting.
In the first two hours of counting, the ruling Trinamool Congress was reported to be ahead in several centres. Even before the results were announced, supporters of Trinamool were celebrating the victory in several districts. Somewhere Abi’s game, somewhere sweet face is going on. Somewhere the firecrackers started bursting again.
Polling was held in 3317 Gram Sabhas (63,229 seats), 341 Panchayat Samiti (9730 seats) and 22 Zilla Parishads (928 seats) across the state on Saturday. But around that election, widespread violence is seen in most of the districts. There are cases of rigged voting, vote looting, snatching of ballot boxes, influencing voters, intimidation, beatings, bombs, firing. 15 people died in violence on polling day alone. In that context, the State Election Commission held re-election in 696 booths of the state on Monday.
After the counting started on this day, reports of sporadic violence started coming from different districts. After receiving the news, Governor CV Anand Bose visited the counting center at Kanthalia High School in Bhandar, South 24 Parganas district. Check the security system in front of the counting center in Bhanada.
Meanwhile, Diamond Harbor Fakir Chand College got heated at the beginning of the counting of votes. The opposition protested by blocking the road for not allowing the opposition to enter the counting hall. They complained that Trinamool workers were not allowing them to enter Fakir Chand College counting center. They blocked the road alleging police inaction. However, Trinamool Congress leaders have denied the allegation.
On the way to the counting center, the candidate and her husband were beaten up on the road and their agent card was taken away from the CPIM. The incident took place on Tuesday in the area adjacent to Rukunpur High School intersection of Hariharpara police station in Murshidabad.
The ruling Trinamool Congress did not allow BJP candidates and their agents to go to the counting center at Garbeta Dantan Pinga in West Midnipur district. BJP leaders sat on hunger strike in the district magistrate’s office in protest.
Soon after the counting started, tension erupted in the clash between the ruling opposition parties at Barasat Block-II Navinchandra High School in North 24 Parganas district. In Rohanda Chandigarh of this district, the Trinamool Congress candidate and the ISF candidate had a heated argument. BJP and Trinamool clashed in Dinbandhu Mahavidyalaya of this district. Trinamool candidate was reportedly injured.
ISF blocked the road at Furfura Sharif Taltala Hat on allegations of vote theft at Jangipara vote counting center in Hooghly district. When a clash broke out between the Trinamool and CPM in front of the counting center in Jangipara, there were allegations against the police that they entered the CPAM party office and lathi-charged the CPIM workers and counting agents.
The CPIM has been accused of beating up a Trinamool woman candidate and her husband on the road, vandalizing their car and confiscating their agent card on their way to the counting center at Rukunpur High School intersection of Hariharpara police station in Murshidabad.