Bengal Panchayat Elections: Polling Booth Vandalised, Ballot Papers Set On Fire In Coochbehar — Watch

A polling booth has been vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire soon after polling began in West Bengal's Coochbehar during Panchayat elections.

A polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai in West Bengal's Coochbehar was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire soon after voting began for single-phase panchayat polls in the state. Voting for rural elections in West Bengal began at 7 am today amid heavy security by central forces. Voting is underway on a total of 63,229 gram panchayat seats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 928 zilla parishad seats, as reported by ANI.

The voting, a litmus test for the TMC ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, in West Bengal after a month of violence and court interventions. The polls come at a time when the Mamata Banerjee-led ruling party in the state is facing various charges of corruption and a number of its leaders have been arrested by CBI and ED. PTI reported that around 5.67 crore voters are expected to cast ballots for nearly 928 seats spread among 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities, and 63,229 gramme panchayats.

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 a dozen individuals.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee led the party's campaign, emphasising the need to avoid strong-arm tactics by its cadres and allow more democratic space to political opponents.

Sukanta Majumdar, national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari headed the BJP's campaign, while state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim led their respective parties' campaigns.

With a small presence in areas of North and South 24 Parganas, the Indian Secular Front's campaign was spearheaded by its lone MLA Nawsad Siddique. During campaigning, skirmishes between the ISF and ruling TMC in Bhangor in South 24 Parganas were reported.

For the first time, Raj Bhavan took an active part in resolving the issue of poll violence, with Governor C V Ananda Bose establishing a 'Peace Home' at the governor's residence to address aam aadmi grievances.

The Raj Bhavan inhabitant was spotted hurrying to violence-stricken districts to console victims and their relatives, earning praise from the BJP but attracting condemnation from the ruling TMC.