The BJP mission responded by claiming that while there had been violence in Bihar and UP 15 to 20 years prior, it has since stopped. Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, criticized the BJP for deploying a fact-finding committee to look into incidents of violence during the elections and dubbed them “provocation committees” instead, a day after winning the panchayat elections there. She chastised the central party for not dispatching such a team during protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to Assam or even the violent Manipur.
“How many commissions visited these places? But within two years, close to 154 teams have visited West Bengal. These are BJP’s provocation committees, not fact-finding committees. It is unfortunate that so many died (during the panchayat polls). They were victims of circumstances. I have told the police to take action,” On Wednesday, Mamta Banerjee stated. Political violence plagued the three-tier rural council elections from the moment it was announced there would be elections. The Trinamool won the elections handily, while the BJP came in a distant second but increased its vote share and seats.
Additionally, Mamta Banerjee announced that each of the 19 deceased individuals’ families would receive a Rs 2 lakh settlement and a specific home guard position. “Of the 19, 10 were Trinamool members. We won’t make distinctions based on party affiliation, she continued. Only 60 of the 71,000 polling places in the state where elections were held reported experiencing violence, according to the chief minister. “I am saddened at the loss of lives and am giving free hand to the police to take action against perpetrators,” she stated.
On Wednesday, the state was visited by the four-person fact-finding delegation of the BJP. The team’s senior leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad, informed the media: “What kind of election is held by your administration and police, Mamata Banerjee? Such incidents took place 15 to 20 years ago in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Violence has stopped even there.”
48 deaths, according to Prasad, occurred after the results were revealed. “Even the High Court and the Supreme Court had to intervene,” Prasad said. Last night, Mamata Banerjee in a Facebook post thanked the people for their “tremendous support and love”, adding that the results of the panchayat elections had once again proved that her party “reigned in the hearts of the Bengali people”.On July 8, voting for the three-tier system of rural councils—the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, and zila parishads—began. On July 11, counting of the votes officially began.
