Priya Aditi
West Bengal panchayat election updates LIVE: West Bengal is preparing for a fiercely contested panchayat election on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pitted against the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) in a battle for control of local administrations. In the upcoming election, which will be counted on July 11, approximately 5.67 billion electors are anticipated to participate.
Over 2,000,000 candidates are competing for 73,887 seats in a single-phase election that will be conducted under strict security measures. Since the election date was proclaimed on June 8, the state has experienced a string of violent incidents resulting in 19 deaths.
The elections serve as a diagnostic test for both parties prior to the crucial Lok Sabha elections of 2024.
Voting began at 7 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m.
Jul 08, 2023 07:32 AM IST
22 deaths attributed to electoral violence in Bengal
Two individuals were slain in Kadambagachi North 24 Parganas and Beldanga in Murshidabad, bringing the death toll from the Bengal election violence to 22.
Jul 08, 2023 07:27 AM IST
Why violence persists in Bengal
One of the greatest paradoxes of contemporary nation-States is the coexistence of ubiquitous political violence and robust democratic franchise. The diverse character of this type of violence in India – between clans, communities, faiths, and castes – is even stranger. In Bengal, however, the state most infamous for election-related violence, these social cleavages dissolve in the face of the sharp divisions along party lines, which trigger a barrage of low-intensity but frequent clashes. Read further
Jul 08, 2023 07:25 AM IST
A property was vandalized in Murshidabad just hours before the election. In the meantime, a polling station was attacked at Baravita Primary School in Sitai, Coochbehar.
Jul 08, 2023 07:20 AM IST
Images from Nandigram as the 2023 West Bengal Panchayat elections get underway
Jul 08, 2023 07:16 AM IST WB panchayat election violence claims 20 lives
After a period of intense campaigning and a nomination filing process marred by violence, panchayat elections in West Bengal began under strict security measures on Saturday morning. In addition to allegations of violence in the state surrounding the filing of nominations, similar incidents occurred afterward. One individual was killed in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal’s Khargram, while a booth was ransacked and set on fire in Cooch Behar’s Dihata.
Jul 08, 2023 07:03 AM IST
Voting commences for the West Bengal Panchayat elections of 2023.
Voting begins on 63,229 gram panchayat seats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats, and 928 zilla parishad seats in the 2023 West Bengal Panchayat elections.
Jul 08, 2023 06:50 AM IST
Preparations are ongoing, and voters are lining up as the election countdown begins.
West Bengal Panchayat elections are about to commence, and voters in the Murshidabad district and Dinhata, Cooch Behar are lining up outside of polling stations with only minutes remaining.
Jul 08, 2023 06:38 AM IST
Images from a polling station in the South 24 Parganas district where crude bombs and weaponry were amassed on Friday.
Jul 08, 2023 06:26 AM IST
10 considerations for the panchayat election in West Bengal
In the midst of widespread violence and murders, West Bengal is preparing for Saturday’s crucial three-tier panchayat elections, which are seen as a litmus test for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Here are the ten most recent developments regarding the West Bengal panchayat election.
Jul 08, 2023 06:06 AM IST
A day before panchayat elections, hostilities escalate.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose harshly criticized the state administration on Friday, stating that it was ‘depressing’ that people across the state were living in fear and urging them to vote their conscience and find a “permanent solution” to their problems. In response to the governor’s comments, senior TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra stated that he should be removed from office and the state, adding that he was not even a registered voter in West Bengal.
Jul 08, 2023 05:50 AM IST
As Bengal casts its vote today, the region of Birbhum exemplifies the stakes.
Birbhum is considered a battleground district in the state due to its diverse population and history of political conflict. In the past, the TMC has won the majority of seats unopposed, but the BJP is now making inroads, capitalizing on voter discontent with the ruling party. Read further
TMC and Congress employees clash in Murshidabad on July 8, 2023 at 05:05 IST.
Before panchayat elections in West Bengal, TMC and Congress workers clashed in the Shamsherganj area of Murshidabad, according to ANI.
Police are present at the scene. More information is awaited.
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Jul 08, 2023 05:28 AM IST
West Bengal panchayat elections are marred by violence; the death toll now stands at 19.
West Bengal’s death toll in the run-up to the panchayat elections on July 8 rose to 19 after a person was allegedly murdered in the Murshidabad district late Thursday night.
