A day after the Supreme Court declined to interfere in the case of the unopposed victory of the Trinamool Congress on many seats in the West Bengal Panchayat elections, violence was reported on Saturday in certain parts of the State over the panchayat board formation.
One person was killed in the Uttar Dinajpur district when violence broke out in the Islamapur area over electing a panchayat pradhan. Lal Mohammad died of injuries in a crude bomb explosion. Four others sustained injuries in the violence, said the police.
According to the Opposition, the violence reflected feud within the Trinamool Congress. Trinamool Congress district president Amal Acharya admitted to factionalism and said that the party will not tolerate this.
Violence was also reported in Malda, Birbhum and Cooch Behar districts. In some areas, the election of panchayat pradhans was suspended by the administration over apprehension of violence.
Opposition parties could not file nominations in 20,698 (35.26 %) seats for the three-tier panchayat elections . In the remaining seats which went to polls in May 2018, the Trinamool Congress won 95% of the zila parishad seats, 81% of the panchayat samitis, and nearly 67 % of the gram panchayat seats.
In some panchayats, Opposition parties came together to keep the Trinamool Congress out.
