JOIN USAs Bengal went to its first civic poll under the new regime with Trinamool Congress at the helm, sporadic incidences of violence were reported from across the state.
Elections were held at 12 municipalities with a re-poll ordered at Panihati Municipality in North-24 Parganas district, around 30 km from Kolkata.
Amid few incidents of minor clashes between the Trinamool Congress and the CPM, the most violent one was reported from Banipur in the Habra municipality of North-24 Parganas district, around 50 Km from Kolkata.
While four Trinamool supporters were injured, one person is said to be in a serious condition.
The Left parties blamed Trinamool of booth capture at North-24 Parganas and Burdwan districts in a formal complaint with the state election commissioner (SEC) Meera Pandey.
Pandey visited two booths under Panihati Municipality and ordered re-polling, following the electoral malpractice allegations.
At Burdwan, CPM threatened to withdraw its candidates and polling agents from all 35 wards of the municipality, alleging that the Trinamool Congress threatened its candidates. CPM district secretary Amal Halder lodged a formal complaint with the election commission as party leaders demonstrated in front of the Superintendent of Police’s office.
As the first municipal elections in Bengal are being held after 2008, when the Left Front was in power, the SEC expressed unhappiness with the state government’s security arrangements ever since polling started at 7 am.
Of the 12 municipalities that went to poll on Saturday, the current status for the parties
Of the 12 municipalities that went to poll on Saturday, Left parties hold 5 municipalities, Congress holds four and Trinamool Congress has three.
The municipal polls on Saturday ran into trouble after the state government and the SEC locked horns over the date.
While the government claimed insufficient time after the Panchayat polls in July, SEC refuted that and went to court. The Calcutta High Court ruled in favour of the commission in deciding the poll schedule.