Bengal panchayat election results: TMC wins over 12,000 seats
The counting of votes for the West Bengal panchayat elections was underway amid tight security on Tuesday. According to the State Election Commission, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has secured 12,518 gram panchayat seats and is leading on another 3,620 seats. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 2,781 seats. There are a total of 63,229 gram panchayat seats across the state.
Why does this story matter?
Notably, repolling for the elections—which were initially held on Saturday—was carried out in 696 booths in 19 districts across the state on Monday. The step was taken after the State Election Commission declared Saturday's voting in these areas void. The booths saw ballot box tampering, booth capturing, assaults on presiding officers, and violence that left at least 20 people dead.
CPI(M) won 910 seats, Congress secured 550
The state poll body also said that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 910 gram panchayat seats, while the Congress bagged 625 seats. The parties were leading in over 550 seats and 276 seats, respectively. To note, the elections were held at 61,636 polling booths for 3,317 gram panchayats, 341 panchayat samities, and 20 zilla parishads.
Fresh incidents of violence on result day
On Tuesday, a ruckus ensued at the counting center in Sovanagar gram panchayat of Malda district as a candidate's husband attempted to flee with a ballot box. He was then chased and held by the police. Moreover, crude bombs exploded outside a counting center in Diamond Harbour in the South 24 Parganas district. However, there was no confirmation of injuries from the blast.
Explosion outside counting center
Violence in West Bengal 'state-sponsored': BJP
Speaking about the election-day violence, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed about 133 people from West Bengal took refuge in Assam's Dhubri due to the fear of violence. Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the killing of 45 individuals since the announcement of panchayat elections, despite the presence of central security forces, showed the murders were "state-sponsored."
Around 45 people died since June 8
Violence has engulfed West Bengal since the poll body announced the panchayat elections on June 8. Around 45 people, including party workers of the TMC and the BJP, have lost their lives. This election has been labeled as the litmus test for the ruling TMC and the BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
