PM Modi: Addressing the violence that marred the Panchayat polls in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the ruling Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, of recklessly “playing with bloodshed.”
PM Modi accuses TMC
While addressing the Kshetriya Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal via videoconferencing, PM Modi asserted in Hindi, ‘TMC ne khooni khel khela hai…’ Additionally, he levelled accusations against the party, alleging that it had menaced voters and ‘made their life hell.'”
Continuing further, he said, “They do anything required to ensure that no BJP candidate can file nomination…they not only threaten BJP workers but also the voters. Contracts are given out to capture booths…This is their way of doing politics in the state.”
He went on to claim that TMC had awarded contracts to thugs, instructing them to seize control of the polling booths on the day of vote counting. The Panchayat elections in West Bengal were held on July 8, and the vote tallying for the 63,229 Gram Panchayat seats occurred on July 11.
PM Modi said, “The party had given a contract to goons and asked them to capture booths on the vote counting day. During the counting of the votes, the TMC forced BJP members out of office and did not let them even watch. When BJP won despite all this, they took out rallies against our members.”
TMC’s sweeping victory
During the elections held on July 8, the TMC emerged victorious in the local body elections, overcoming the shadow of violence that marked the event. The party retained its previous mandate secured two years ago during the assembly polls. Impressively, the TMC secured triumph across all 20 zilla parishads in the state, in addition to clinching nearly 80 percent (2,641 out of 3,317) of the gram panchayats and 92 percent (313 out of 341) of the panchayat samitis. Disturbingly, reports indicated that a total of 40 individuals lost their lives due to poll-related violence in the month leading up to the West Bengal panchayat elections. Tragically, on the polling day itself, 21 fatalities were reported.
The voting day was marred by extensive violence, incidents of ballot paper looting, and instances of rigging. Disturbing reports emerged of booth capturing, vandalism of ballot boxes, and attacks on presiding officers, spanning across various districts including Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur, and Nadia. Further alarming reports detailed incidents of ballot boxes being set ablaze and clashes erupting between rival political factions in various locations.
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