WB Panchayat Elections 2023: Fresh violence erupts as repolling underway in 696 booths

West Bengal Panchayat Polls 2023: The repolling, conducted by the State Election Commission (SEC), began at 7 am and will be held till 5 pm amid tight security. Four central forces personnel have been deployed in each booth, besides state police, officials said.

Fresh violence erupted in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, just two days after the panchayat elections were marred by chaos. The violence comes as repolling is underway today (July 10) in 696 booths across 19 districts of the state. The Congress party accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of orchestrating the violence, claiming that their cadres had vandalized the house of a party worker.

In a disturbing incident, unidentified miscreants targeted the home of Congress candidate Noornahar Bibi, launching bomb attacks and firing gunshots on Sunday night.

Following the occurrence of extensive violence and fatalities during the panchayat elections, authorities decided to initiate repolling in 53 booths situated in Cooch Behar district.

In addition, repolling was being conducted in various other districts as well, namely Nadia, North 24 Parganas (with 89 booths), Uttar Dinajpur (42 booths), South 24 Parganas (36 booths), Purba Medinipur (31 booths), and Hooghly (29 booths), as confirmed by officials.

The repolling, conducted by the State Election Commission (SEC), began at 7 am and will be held till 5 pm amid tight security. Four central forces personnel have been deployed in each booth, besides state police, officials said.

The rural polls in Bengal were marred by chaos and violence, resulting in the loss of 19 lives. Explosions of bombs and clashes between supporters of various parties, including the ruling TMC, BJP, CPI (M), Congress, and independents, added to the mayhem across the state. This election, considered a crucial indicator for the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections, also witnessed incidents of stolen and burnt ballot boxes, as well as public outrage against political workers.