Bengal panchayat polls: "TMC creating an atmosphere of fear...", says Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Kolkata: West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Saturday that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government was creating an atmosphere of fear in West Bengal in the run-up to the panchayat polls scheduled to be held on July 8.
The Congress leader said that their apprehension of the panchayat polls not being conducted peacefully in the state was coming true. "Our apprehension is proving true. The ruling party in Bengal is doing hooliganism and is using the administration to create an environment of fear. The opposition is being intimidated in a planned manner. They (TMC) do not want the Murshidabad elections to be held peacefully," said Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary.
Earlier, West Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury requested Governor CV Ananda Bose in a letter yesterday to arrange for central forces during the panchayat elections to have free and fair elections.
"I have a solid reason to apprehend that a free and fair election to a three-tier panchayat in the month of July 2023 in West Bengal would be a far-reaching dream. Therefore, I humbly solicit your good office to do the needful for conducting the said election under the direct supervision of the central forces. Your prompt action in this regard is highly solicited," he requested in his letter to the Governor.
This comes after a congress worker was killed during the campaigns. Talking about the assassination of a party worker, Fulchand Shaikh, Chowdhury alleged that "jungle rule" prevails in the state, under which the thugs and miscreants of the ruling party are preying upon the opposition workers like they are some "monsters of the deep".
The West Bengal panchayat elections will be held in a single phase on July 8. The counting of votes will be done on July 11.
Panchayat polls in West Bengal will witness a fierce contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress as the polls will be seen as a litmus test ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)