Clashes in Jangalmahal as panchayat polls begin
12 July 2013 5:38 AM IST
Clashes between political groups were reported on Thursday as the first phase of the controversial five-phased panchayat polls in Bengal got underway.
The police said 11 people were injured in a clash between Trinamool Congress and Congress workers at Sabong in West Midnapore district. The injured included a TMC gram panchayat candidate. Five of the injured were taken to the Midnapore Sadar Hospital, the police said.
The elections are being held after the Supreme Court last week refused to reschedule its dates which the state government said, were clashing with the holy month of Ramzan.
Nearly 75 lakh voters across three districts were to choose representatives to over 10,200 seats. The districts that witnessed polling include West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, which together comprise Jangalmahal, an erstwhile Maoist stronghold.
Voting was held for the three-tier rural bodies - gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad. Security was tight across the three districts with over 48,000 central and state forces having been deployed to ensure voting in 10,038 polling stations.
The Left had, during the last elections, won majority of the seats from this region. This time, though, Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has already won over 1,600 seats without a contest.
The party has, in all, already grabbed a majority of the 6,274 seats that have been won uncontested from the total 58,865 seats that will witness voting across the five phases on July 11, 15, 19, 22 and 25. A total of 1.7 lakh candidates are in the fray in over 17 districts in these controversial elections.
Old-timers in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts told reporters that they had not witnessed such enthusiasm among voters for many years.
In the once-feared Maoist strongholds of Pirakata, Bhimpur, Salboni and Goaltore in West Midnapore district, voters were seen standing in long queues.
The elections have been the cause of a bitter legal confrontation between the Bengal government and the state election commission, both of who have clashed over several issues - including the number of phases and security - in the conducting of the polls.
(With PTI inputs)
The police said 11 people were injured in a clash between Trinamool Congress and Congress workers at Sabong in West Midnapore district. The injured included a TMC gram panchayat candidate. Five of the injured were taken to the Midnapore Sadar Hospital, the police said.
The elections are being held after the Supreme Court last week refused to reschedule its dates which the state government said, were clashing with the holy month of Ramzan.
Nearly 75 lakh voters across three districts were to choose representatives to over 10,200 seats. The districts that witnessed polling include West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, which together comprise Jangalmahal, an erstwhile Maoist stronghold.
Voting was held for the three-tier rural bodies - gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad. Security was tight across the three districts with over 48,000 central and state forces having been deployed to ensure voting in 10,038 polling stations.
The Left had, during the last elections, won majority of the seats from this region. This time, though, Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has already won over 1,600 seats without a contest.
The party has, in all, already grabbed a majority of the 6,274 seats that have been won uncontested from the total 58,865 seats that will witness voting across the five phases on July 11, 15, 19, 22 and 25. A total of 1.7 lakh candidates are in the fray in over 17 districts in these controversial elections.
Old-timers in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts told reporters that they had not witnessed such enthusiasm among voters for many years.
In the once-feared Maoist strongholds of Pirakata, Bhimpur, Salboni and Goaltore in West Midnapore district, voters were seen standing in long queues.
The elections have been the cause of a bitter legal confrontation between the Bengal government and the state election commission, both of who have clashed over several issues - including the number of phases and security - in the conducting of the polls.
(With PTI inputs)
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