Bengal panchayat polls: Fresh violence erupts as repolling underway in 696 booths

Two days after panchayat elections in West Bengal plunged into chaos, fresh violence broke out in Cooch Behar ahead of repolling in 696 booths across 19 districts of the state on Monday.

The Congress party alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress’s cadres vandalised the house of its party worker. Unidentified miscreants attacked Congress candidate Noornahar Bibi’s house, pelting bombs and opening fire on Sunday night.

Repolling was ordered in 53 booths of Cooch Behar district after widespread violence and killings on the day of panchayat elections.

Repolling was also being held at 89 booths in Nadia, North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31) and Hooghly (29), officials said.

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.

Chaos and bloodshed spelled Bengal’s rural polls as 19 people died, bombs exploded and functionaries from the contending parties—the ruling TMC, the BJP, the CPI (M), the Congress, and independents—engaged in pitched battles across the state.

The election, which is being seen by analysts as a litmus test for the 2024 parliamentary elections, also witnessed scenes of ballot boxes being stolen and burnt and of public anger against political workers.