Polling was held in over 61,000 booths in the panchayat elections
Polling was held in over 61,000 booths in the panchayat elections and violence happened in only about 60 booths, and serious incidents took place in eight of those.“In most cases, TMC workers died due to the violence," he said.
Fifteen people have been killed in the violence that rocked the elections to the three-tier panchayat system in the state on Saturday, officials said.BSF DIG of South bengal Frontier SS Guleria earlier told PTI that the force was not provided details of sensitive booths.
“The allegations that the central forces and BSF have failed to provide security cover are completely baseless. We provided troops to the State election commission (SEC) for deployment. The polling was completely peaceful wherever central forces were deployed. Even if there were a few minor incidents, it was dealt with professionally," he said.“We had asked for a list of sensitive booths from the SEC but it was not provided. We learned from the press that the number of sensitive booths is 4,384. The local administration decided on the deployment," he added.
West bengal has witnessed yet another bloody exercise of franchise in its rural polls. No surprises there really, given the state’s dubious distinction of embarking on break-less political violence in the past. But what seems to have broken a tradition this time is the fact that the ruling dispensation seems to mainly have been at the receiving end of that violence.As many as nine of the 15 people murdered in the state on the day of the polls were Trinamul congress workers. Add to it the number of Trinamul supporters who lost their lives in the state over the past month ever since the polls were announced on june 8, and that figure could easily double.
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