In the early hours of Wednesday, clashes erupted in West Bengal following the panchayat polls, resulting in the death of at least three individuals and an injury to a police officer. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) appeared poised for a sweeping victory as the ballot counting for the three-tier election was underway. The overall death toll from the violence, which began when the poll schedule was announced on June 8, reached 45, including 18 fatalities on the day of the polling. Additional police superintendent Maqsood Hasan was injured by a bullet and transferred to a hospital in Kolkata.
The counting of votes for approximately 74,000 Bengal panchayat seats commenced on Tuesday, closely monitored by armed state police and central forces. Counting centers implemented a ban on gatherings of more than four people. Following a high court order, central paramilitary forces were stationed in the state for a minimum of 10 days after the announcement of the panchayat poll results to prevent post-poll clashes. Similar violence had erupted after the declaration of the 2021 assembly election results in May.
As the results were declared until around midnight, the ruling TMC had secured 31,829 seats, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailing significantly at 8,630 seats. The Congress party had obtained 2,268 seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) had secured 2,668 seats. Independent candidates had won 1,877 seats. In the 2018 elections, the TMC had won 38,188 out of 48,636 seats.
At the Panchayat Samiti level, out of the 9,730 seats, the TMC had won 2,612 and the BJP 275 seats. The TMC also secured 124 seats at the Zilla Parishad level and was leading in another 205 seats, while the BJP was leading in 11 seats.
Reports of post-poll clashes emerged from various locations, including an incident in Bhangore where a clash between TMC and Indian Secular Front supporters occurred, involving the hurling of crude bombs and firing of bullets. The police responded by firing rubber bullets and using tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The counting process was expected to conclude on Wednesday. Prior to this, the BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) had alleged incidents of booth capturing, rigging, ballot box theft, harassment of polling officials, and instances of firing and bomb attacks.
Also Read: Union Home Minister to Address G20 Conference on Cyber Security and Crime Prevention
