Amid violence, all set for panchayat polls in West Bengal on July 8

Polling officials collect EVMs and other election material at a distribution centre ahead of the West Bengal panchayat elections, at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district. Credit: PTI Photo

Around 5.67 crore voters, in 22 districts, will have a chance to exercise their rights in West Bengal’s rural polls on Saturday.

Governor CV Ananda Bose, who has already made several field visits to areas hit by violence, was in Murshidabad on Friday to assess the situation in the region. Governor Bose, a day earlier, had made strong remarks about the state election commissioner. He has spoken several times about the violence affecting the common man, asking the authorities concerned to act.

The pre-poll phase has witnessed violence, and deaths in rural pockets, with the parties in power, and the Opposition pointing fingers at each other.

Also Read: WB panchayat polls: Spectre of violent past haunts Nandigram

Of the 61,636 booths, the polling is going to take place on 60,593 booths, with 1,043 booths out of the purview. These include uncontested seats.

Of the over 2 lakh candidates in the three-tier contest in 20, and a two-tier contest in 22 districts, the Trinamool – has close to 72,000 candidates. The BJP has over 46,000 candidates.

The “synoptic report on contesting candidates” also yields a cumulative figure (gram panchayat, panchayat samiti, zila parishad) of nearly 43,000 candidates for the CPI(M), and close to 15,000 candidates for the Congress.

While the rural polls are being considered a run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, issues concerning villages, unlike the state elections, have figured higher on the priority list of the parties – the two of these being the non-availability of central funds, and corruption.

The challenge before the Trinamool is to retain its earlier tally, whereas the BJP is looking at a larger share in the rural bodies. The CPI (M), and the Congress are also expecting better results in the current poll.