Bengal Panchayat Election: Re-Polling In Affected Booths Concludes Peacefully Amidst Extra Measures — IN PICS

Barring minor incidents, the re-polling ordered by the State Election Commission in 696 booths of Bengal passed off peacefully with 69.85% of all eligible voters casting their ballots till 5 pm.

Voters cast ballots at polling booths during panchayat repolls.

The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with at least four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Nearly 700 booths underwent fresh polling in 19 districts of Bengal.. (Image Source: PTI)

The State Election Commission (SEC) ordered re-voting in 696 booths on Sunday evening, following allegations of ballot box tampering and violence that left 15 people dead. According to the PTI report, the repolling began at 7 AM amid tight security, with four central forces personnel and state police deployed in each booth. It stated that 30.54 percent of voters turned out until 1 PM. (Image Source: PTI)

Voting started late in a few booths as ballot boxes did not reach on time, the report said. It was also stated that these polling stations would be given additional time to complete the voting process. According to the report, locals in Malda blocked a booth in Dogachi in Raniganj panchayat in Gazole block, preventing the repoll. Locals boycotted the vote on Saturday as well, claiming that a road needed to be repaired. (Image Source: PTI)

Because polling could not be held on Saturday, a repolling was ordered, but it was also cancelled because locals locked the booth, according to officials. In the morning, a road in Tehatta, Nadia, was blocked, but it was later cleared by police. Voters also protested outside a polling station in Mayna, Purba Medinipur district, he said. (Image Source: PTI)

Murshidabad has the most booths (175) among the districts where repolling is taking place, followed by Malda with 109. According to the report, repolling was also taking place in 89 booths in Nadia, followed by Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31) and Hooghly (29). (Image Source: PTI)

According to the report, no repolling was ordered in Darjeeling, Jhargram and Kalimpong districts of the state. (Image Source: PTI)

After reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers, the decision to re-vote was made. The three-tier panchayat elections were held on Saturday in over 61,000 polling stations. Ballot boxes were looted, set on fire, and thrown into ponds in several locations, sparking violence. (Image Source: PTI)

A total of 5.67 crore people living in the state's rural areas were eligible to vote on the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in the panchayat system's 73,887 seats. (Image Source: PTI)