Bengal panchayat polls: Central forces start route march to instil confidence among voters in Bolpur

Birbhum: Days after the Calcutta High Court order to requisition central forces for deployment in panchayat elections to the West Bengal State Election Commission, Central Forces on Saturday held a route march in Bolpur town of Birbhum district to instil confidence in the voters.

The administration and Bolpur police also joined hands with the central forces to ensure that the election process could be done peacefully in the Panchayat elections. Meanwhile, one company of paramilitary forces reached Jalpaiguri on Friday evening.
The company of the Central Paramilitary Force has been lodged at the Panchayat Training Centre in the Mohitnagar area of Jalpaiguri.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court ordered the West Bengal SEC to requisition the Central Forces within 24 hours for deployment in panchayat elections. The court's directive specified that the number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies should not be less than those requisitioned for the 2013 panchayat polls.
The decision by the court came amidst allegations from Opposition parties that the ruling Trinamool Congress is employing violence and intimidation tactics to discourage their candidates from filing nominations for the upcoming July 8 elections.
The court observed that there are more districts now compared to 2013, and it is going to be a single-phased election, while in 2013 there were five phases of elections.

The court's order was in response to the contempt plea filed by the BJP and Congress.

Ahead of the Panchayat elections, scheduled to be held on July 8, the state witnessed continuous clashes in various parts of the state, including a violent incident at the Block Development Office in Birbhum's Ahmadpur, where crude bombs were reportedly thrown. Also, a TMC worker was beaten to death in the Malda district.

The election will be held in a single phase on July 8, with vote counting scheduled for July 11. Panchayat polls in West Bengal will witness a fierce contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress as they will be seen as a litmus test ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.