West Bengal gears up for Panchayat Elections set to be held on 8 July, 2023, Saturday. The pre-poll status in the panchayats of the state saw massive violent episodes and deaths of some.
Saturday’s Panchayat polls in West Bengal serves as a litmus test for the 2024 parliamentary elections and holds the power to reshape the state’s political landscape.
The rural polls, which cover nearly 65 per cent of the state’s population, also provide parties with a final opportunity to assess their booth-level organisation ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as most of the 42 parliamentary seats are situated in rural areas of the state.
West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023
Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities, and 63,229 gram panchayats seats.
The voting will be held on 8 July. Counting of votes will be held on July 11.
West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Controversy
Since the day the polls were announced on June 8, widespread violence was reported in various parts of the state leading to the death of over a dozen people, including a teenager.
On Friday it was reported that a Congress worker in Murshidabad had been beaten to death and his family attacked. Governor Ananda Bose visited the violence stricken areas on Friday.
For the first time, Raj Bhavan played an active role in addressing the issue of poll violence, with Governor C V Ananda Bose opening a ‘Peace Home’ at the governor’s house to address complaints of the commoners.
The Raj Bhavan occupant was seen rushing to violence-hit areas to assuage the victims and their families, drawing a pat from the BJP and criticism from the ruling TMC.
West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Parties in the fray
Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee led the party’s campaign while stressing the need to shun strong-arm tactics by its cadres and allow more democratic space to the political opponents, to avoid the rerun of the 2018 rural polls when it had won around 34 per cent seats uncontested.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, and leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari led the saffron party’s campaign, whereas state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim led their parties’ respective poll drives.
The Indian Secular Front (ISF), with its limited presence in parts of North and South 24 Parganas, too grabbed headlines as its leader and lone MLA Nawsad Siddique led the party’s campaign, which often resulted in clashes with the ruling TMC in Bhangor in South 24 Parganas.
West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Central police force deployed
The polls to elect representatives for village councils will be held under the watchful eyes of central forces for the second time since the inception of the Panchayati Raj system in Bengal in the late Seventies.
Nearly 65,000 active central police personnel and 70,000 state police personnel will be deployed for the polls, officials said.
West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Vulnerable areas
Bhangar: Three deaths on the last day of nomination made Bhangar the most vulnerable and ‘hot spot’ in the panchayat polls, amid the battle of allegations between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Indian Secular Front (ISF).
Murshidabad: With four deaths in the run-up to the panchayat polls, 72 companies of Central Forces has been deployed here. More than 1,000 were injured in the run-up to the elections.
(With PTI inputs)
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Updated: 07 Jul 2023, 06:25 PM IST