BJP, Congress, TMC Locked In Three-Corner Battle Over Poll Violence Ahead Of Bengal Panchayat Elections

Congress alleged TMC of creating atmosphere of terror while BJP said that the voice of the people of West Bengal was also not being heard. TMC sought SEC's intervention into Bengal poll violence

Ahead of the July 8 Panchayat polls in West Bengal, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have accused the Trinamool Congress of instigating violence in the state while the ruling TMC claimed that two of its workers were also killed in the violence and sought state election commission’s (SEC) intervention. “The ruling party in West Bengal is leaving no stone unturned to create an atmosphere of terror,” Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told news agency ANI. 

“It is impossible to hold panchayat elections in Bengal without tension and violence. People are scared, candidates who have filed nominations had to run away from home out of fear,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Union minister and BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi said that not only her party leaders were being attacked but the voice of the people of West Bengal was also not being heard. 

“Court orders are not being respected there. The situation being created in West Bengal is anarchic and they want to run the country and the world in their way…” Lekhi said on Sunday. 

Earlier in the day, TMC MP Saugata Roy put the ball in SEC’s court saying it should look into cases of poll-related violence. 

Talking to news agency ANI, the TMC MP said that three of his party workers have also been killed in the arson and violence in the state. He said that law and order are under the State government and the Governor has no role in it. 

"3 people from TMC have been killed...Law & Order is under the state govt, it's not the Governor's work. It's the work of the State Election Commissioner to look after the poll violence. The Governor has no role to play after polls are announced," he told ANI. 

Several instances of violence came to the fore as leaders of the opposition parties claimed they were attacked while on their way to file nominations. 

Last week, incidents of poll-related violence were reported in Daspur (Paschim Medinipur), Kakdwip (South 24 Parganas), Raninagar (Murshidabad), Saktinagar and Barshul (both in Purba Bardhaman) and Minakhan (North 24 Parganas), an official told news agency PTI. 

A party office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was "vandalised" at Minakhan in Basirhat subdivision and the candidate was "assaulted" by the miscreants when he was going to file his nomination, the official said, as per the report. 

In another incident, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Dibakar Gharami was allegedly attacked by unidentified people at Sonamukhi in Bankura district while he was heading to the nomination centre. 

In the wake of such incidents, the state election commission (SEC) had last week directed all the district magistrates and superintendent of police to issue prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code in a 1-kilometre radius of all nomination centres across the state. 

The orders were imposed to ensure that the nomination process passed off safely, said an official, as per a report by PTI.