Bengal Guv asks state election commissioner to brief him over incidents of violence during civic polls

Kolkata: Amid reports of sporadic incidents of violence at different places during Sunday's elections to 107 municipalities across West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has asked State Election Commissioner Saurab Das to brief him on the situation by 10 am on Monday.

Das should be fully updated on developments in the election process held on Sunday, which "prima facie indicates failure of democracy," a Raj Bhavan release said.

"State Election Commissioner Shri Saurab Das has been called upon to brief Guv anytime before 10 am tomorrow in view of alarmingly disturbing inputs, depicting scenario of violence and lawlessness, with administration in partisan mode and systemic failure #SEC," Dhankhar said in a tweet, attaching the release.

A senior SEC official had earlier in the day said that sporadic incidents of violence were reported. We noted disturbances in a few areas and took action .

Dhankhar later told reporters that what is being witnessed in West Bengal is dance of brutality (tandav nritya) .

Expressing hope that the State Election Commissioner will do his duty, he said, "I wish to tell him this is no time for alibis or to act smart; this is the time to discharge constitutional obligations I find democratic values imperiled in the state to an extent that people are losing faith in the democratic process.

The governor added that Sunday's municipal election was virtually a war , as per inputs received by him.