West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the 19 people who died in violence during the panchayat elections would be given an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each a government job to their kin. Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said the TMC government would not discriminate on the basis of which party the deceased belonged to.


"The 19 people who have died will be given an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each and their kin will be given a home guard job by the government. Out of the 19, 10 were TMC workers. We will not discriminate on the basis of which party they belonged to," the TMC supremo said.


The ruling Trinamool Congress secured a massive victory in the violence-scarred panchayat polls in Bengal, winning over 35,000 gram panchayat seats. BJP was a distant second, winning around 10,000 seats.


OPINION | Bengal Panchayat Polls: TMC Wins, But At What Cost? Many Cautionary Signs For Mamata Banerjee


Mamata said the deaths of so many people were unfortunate and stressed that she had given the police a free hand to take action against those behind the rural poll violence.


"I am saddened at loss of lives in sporadic incidents of violence. Rural polls were held in 71,000 booths, but incidents of violence took place in not more than 60," she said.


Hitting out at the BJP for sending a fact-finding team to Bengal over the poll violence, Mamata called it a "provocateurs committee".


"Where was the fact-finding team when Manipur was burning? Where was this team when Assam was burning due to NRC? How many committees visited these places? Within two years, around 154 teams visited West Bengal," Banerjee said.


The BJP, on the other hand, has claimed that since the beginning of the nomination process of the panchayat elections in the state, around 45 people have died.


"The administration is involved in the murders that have taken place in Bengal. Since the beginning of the nomination process of the panchayat elections in the state up to the present time, around 45 people have died. This is extremely unfortunate," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Tuesday.


Since the polls were announced on June 8, there has been extensive violence in various sections of the state, resulting in the deaths of over 30 people.


On polling day, 15 people died and there were reports of ballot boxes being vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places. Of those deceased people, 11 were affiliated with the TMC.