Panchayat polls: Bengal SEC orders re-election in 690 booths amid violence

As sporadic protests and incidents of post-poll violence continued to plague West Bengal, the State Election Commission announced on Sunday that repolling will be held on July 10 in 696 booths where voting for the rural elections has been declared void.

In Saturday's violence scarred panchayat polls, people had cast their votes in 61,636 booths for 2.06 lakh candidates who were in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats in the three-tier panchayat system in the state.

The SEC, which held a meeting on Sunday evening, went through reports of vote-tampering and violence which affected polling in many places, and passed the order, an official said.

At least 4 central police force personnel will be posted at each of these booths where re-polling has been ordered, he told PTI.

Among districts where repolling was announced, Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 174, followed by Malda with 109. No repolling has been ordered in any booth in three districts of Jhargram, Kalimpong and Darjeeling.

Meanwhile, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday flew to New Delhi, where he is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submit a report on the violence that took place during the panchayat elections.

Protests were held in different parts of West Bengal on Sunday against the violence that rocked the panchayat elections and over allegations of irregularities.

The toll in the violence rose to 15 after a man was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries on Sunday morning, officials said.

BJP supporters staged a demonstration outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata.

Security was beefed up in the area as the protestors shouted slogans against the SEC over the alleged "inability" of the poll panel to conduct the elections peacefully.

In Purba Medinipur district, BJP workers blocked the Haldia-Mecheda state highway at Nandakumar alleging that ballot boxes were being tampered with at the counting centre at Srikrishnapur High School.

"We received information around 3 am that the ballot boxes were being changed. We are demanding repolling at all the booths in the area under the protection of central forces, besides counting of votes at the booths itself," said Tamas Dinda, a leader of the BJP's youth wing in Tamluk.

As the situation escalated, police baton-charged the protesters to bring the situation under control, officer-in-charge of Nandakumar police station Manoj Kumar Jha told PTI.

Congress workers blocked the National Highway 12 in Rathbari area in Malda, protesting against the violence during polling on Saturday.

"We have hit the streets in protest against Saturday's violence. We will also go to the court against it," Congress MP Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury said.

In the district's Harishchandrapur area, a police vehicle in which a Deputy Superintendent of Police was returning home on Saturday late night night was vandalised and the officer injured.

Police suspect that miscreants from Bihar, just across the inter-state border, were behind the incident, officials said.

In Uttar Dinajpur, two cars were set on fire, and several vehicles, including a state-run bus, were vandalised as the protests turned violent in the Chakulia police station area.

Congress workers held similar protests in Murshidabad district's Beldanga, alleging that supporters of the ruling TMC indulged in intimidation of voters and false voting with impunity during the polls.

Violence was also reported from the district's Samserganj area where two groups clashed with crude bombs.

At Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, clashes boke out between ISF and TMC supporters. Crude bombs were hurled during the clashes.

In South 24 Parganas district, three police personnel were injured while trying to control a clash between TMC and Congress supporters. The incident happened in Nainan in Magrahat police station area, police said.

Clashes were also reported from the district's Kulpi area as supporters of an Independent candidate and TMC workers clashed in Udairampur village. Later when police reached the area, women protested with sticks.