Tag: West Bengal Polls

  • Lok Sabha Polls 2024: ‘TMC workers drove BJP polling agent away from booth’, claims BJP’s Agnimitra Paul – The Economic Times Video

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate from Medinipur Agnimitra Paul on Saturday, accused the West Bengal Police of arresting several of the party’s polling agents and the ruling party driving one of the polling agents away from the booth on voting day. “They (TMC) have removed our polling agent. The TMC kidnapped him and took him away. When I received the information I came here. He was crying here. I have taken him inside and made him sit,” Paul said speaking to on Saturday.

  • Calcutta High Court dismisses petitions seeking declaration of Bengal rural polls void 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed petitions seeking that the 2023 West Bengal panchayat election be declared void because of non-compliance with basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair polls.

    The court also rejected a prayer for the removal of the state election commissioner, holding that such a prayer is not maintainable as it is an independent constitutional body.

    A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam held in a judgement that the reliefs sought in the writ petitions seeking that the polls be declared void because of non-compliance of basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair polls cannot be granted.

    Two petitions seeking similar reliefs were dismissed by the bench that also comprised Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya.

    The bench held that the issues raised in the petitions have been settled in an earlier matter by the high court and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court.

    The earlier order of June 13 said that if an election is to be called in question, which may have the effect of interrupting, obstructing or protracting the election proceedings in any manner, invoking of judicial remedy has to be postponed till after the completion of proceedings in elections.

    “Without interrupting, obstructing or delaying the progress of the election proceedings, judicial intervention is available if assistance of the court has been sought for merely to correct or smoothen the progress of the election proceedings, to remove the obstacles therein, or to preserve a vital piece of evidence,” it had said.

    The petitioners filed the writ petitions as public interest litigation praying that the panchayat election in the state be declared as void because of non-compliance of basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair elections.

    It was also prayed that an independent agency be directed to investigate into the affairs of filing of nomination of candidates belonging to the ruling party in an abnormally short span of time, claiming that 76,000 nominations were filed in two days including filing of nominations by persons who are not in India.

    It was claimed that the nomination of a person belonging to the ruling party was filed when he was in Saudi Arabia.

    The SEC had cancelled the nomination of the said person after receiving a complaint in this regard.

    Senior counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for one petitioner, had submitted that in many cases the candidates were prevented from filing the nominations and that several of the persons who had filed nominations were threatened to withdraw the nominations.

    Jishnu Saha, the senior advocate appearing for the SEC, had submitted that the petitioners’ plea is a very belated attempt and no specific instance had been pointed out and the allegations are vague.

    Advocate General S N Mookherjee for the state had submitted that the principle of non-interference by court in election of the 3-tier panchayat system is on the same basis as that of parliamentary and assembly elections and as such that may be followed in these petitions.

    It was submitted by the petitioner’s lawyer that when the intending candidates of the opposition parties could not file their nominations or were even forced to withdraw their nominations, the ruling party filed 76,000 nominations within two days and that is impossible unless the nomination papers were filed in bunch with the assistance of the state government machinery.

    It was prayed that this issue needs to be investigated.

    ALSO READ 

    TMC resides in hearts of people: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on panchayat poll win

    Counting for West Bengal rural polls underway, TMC leads in over 3,000 gram panchayats 

    West Bengal panchayat polls: Amid allegations of rigging, counting of votes to take place Tuesday

    KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed petitions seeking that the 2023 West Bengal panchayat election be declared void because of non-compliance with basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair polls.

    The court also rejected a prayer for the removal of the state election commissioner, holding that such a prayer is not maintainable as it is an independent constitutional body.

    A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam held in a judgement that the reliefs sought in the writ petitions seeking that the polls be declared void because of non-compliance of basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair polls cannot be granted.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    Two petitions seeking similar reliefs were dismissed by the bench that also comprised Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya.

    The bench held that the issues raised in the petitions have been settled in an earlier matter by the high court and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court.

    The earlier order of June 13 said that if an election is to be called in question, which may have the effect of interrupting, obstructing or protracting the election proceedings in any manner, invoking of judicial remedy has to be postponed till after the completion of proceedings in elections.

    “Without interrupting, obstructing or delaying the progress of the election proceedings, judicial intervention is available if assistance of the court has been sought for merely to correct or smoothen the progress of the election proceedings, to remove the obstacles therein, or to preserve a vital piece of evidence,” it had said.

    The petitioners filed the writ petitions as public interest litigation praying that the panchayat election in the state be declared as void because of non-compliance of basic principles of the Constitution and the statute to ensure free and fair elections.

    It was also prayed that an independent agency be directed to investigate into the affairs of filing of nomination of candidates belonging to the ruling party in an abnormally short span of time, claiming that 76,000 nominations were filed in two days including filing of nominations by persons who are not in India.

    It was claimed that the nomination of a person belonging to the ruling party was filed when he was in Saudi Arabia.

    The SEC had cancelled the nomination of the said person after receiving a complaint in this regard.

    Senior counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for one petitioner, had submitted that in many cases the candidates were prevented from filing the nominations and that several of the persons who had filed nominations were threatened to withdraw the nominations.

    Jishnu Saha, the senior advocate appearing for the SEC, had submitted that the petitioners’ plea is a very belated attempt and no specific instance had been pointed out and the allegations are vague.

    Advocate General S N Mookherjee for the state had submitted that the principle of non-interference by court in election of the 3-tier panchayat system is on the same basis as that of parliamentary and assembly elections and as such that may be followed in these petitions.

    It was submitted by the petitioner’s lawyer that when the intending candidates of the opposition parties could not file their nominations or were even forced to withdraw their nominations, the ruling party filed 76,000 nominations within two days and that is impossible unless the nomination papers were filed in bunch with the assistance of the state government machinery.

    It was prayed that this issue needs to be investigated.

    ALSO READ 

    TMC resides in hearts of people: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on panchayat poll win

    Counting for West Bengal rural polls underway, TMC leads in over 3,000 gram panchayats 

    West Bengal panchayat polls: Amid allegations of rigging, counting of votes to take place Tuesday

  • TMC dominates Bengal rural polls by bagging over 12,518 seats, maintains strong lead 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: According to the latest declarations by the State Election Commission, the TMC has won 12,518-gram panchayat seats and is leading in 3,620 seats.

    Its nearest rival BJP has won 2,781 seats and is leading in 915 seats out of 63,229 seats as of 3.30 pm.

    The Left Front has won in 959 seats out of which the CPI(M) alone has won in 910 seats. The party is currently leading in 550 seats. The Congress won 625 seats and is leading in 276.

    Other parties which included the newly formed ISF won 219 seats and led in 70 seats, while independents which included TMC rebels won 718 seats and led in 216 seats.

    Counting of votes for the three-tier panchayat polls to nearly 74,000 seats which besides the gram panchayat seats, also includes 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 928 zilla parishad seats, began at 8 am on Tuesday peacefully amid tight security, officials said.

    There are around 339 counting venues spread across 22 districts. The maximum number of counting centres is in South 24 Parganas at 28, while the minimum is in Kalimpong at four. Some northern districts are also facing inclement weather.

    “Counting began at 8 am and is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take time for the ballots to be counted and the results to be compiled,” an SEC official said.

    In Darjeeling hills, out of the 598 seats in Darjeeling and 281 in Kalimpong, the BGPM was leading in 21, whereas the BJP was head in one, and the independents were leading in four.

    All the counting venues are manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents. There are a total of 767 strong rooms across 22 districts.

    Large crowds of supporters of various candidates gathered at various centres to ensure that counting was conducted correctly.

    In various districts, TMC supporters celebrated their victory by dancing and smearing each other with green gulal.

    As initial trends started pouring in, a war of words broke out between the TMC and the BJP, with the latter accusing the ruling party of “making last desperate attempts to loot votes by blocking opposition agents from entering counting centres.” “TMC goons are making desperate attempts to steal the elections by obstructing the counting agents and candidates of the BJP and other opposition political parties from entering counting centres. They are being restricted from going towards the venue, and bombs are being hurled to intimidate counting agents,” leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said.

    Refuting the allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Sensing defeat, they are making baseless allegations.” “Rejected by people and sensing humiliating defeat, this is BJP’s last attempt to come up with lame excuses to make up for its own organisational failures,” he said.

    Violence had rocked West Bengal’s rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.

    Of those killed, 11 were affiliated with the TMC. The total death toll in the state since the poll process began on June 8, when the dates were announced, has crossed 30.

    A voter turnout of 80.71 per cent was recorded on Saturday, whereas a vote percentage of 69.85 was recorded till 5 pm in 696 booths across West Bengal, where re-polling was held on Monday.

    The decision for re-polling was taken after reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers on Saturday.

    A total of 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the panchayat system.

    Saturday’s violence was in keeping with the state’s history of violent rural elections, including the 2003 panchayat polls, which gained notoriety for its cumulative death toll of 76 during the poll process, with nearly 40 killed on the day of polling.

    This year, with more than 30 killed since polls were announced earlier last month, the toll remained almost equal to that of the previous panchayat elections in 2018.

    However, this time, the Opposition had fielded candidates in more than 90 per cent of seats, unlike in 2018 rural polls, when the ruling TMC had won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested.

    In the 2018 rural polls, the ruling TMC had emerged victorious in 90 per cent of the panchayat seats and all the 22 zilla parishads. The elections were marred by widespread violence, with the Opposition alleging they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats.

    KOLKATA: According to the latest declarations by the State Election Commission, the TMC has won 12,518-gram panchayat seats and is leading in 3,620 seats.

    Its nearest rival BJP has won 2,781 seats and is leading in 915 seats out of 63,229 seats as of 3.30 pm.

    The Left Front has won in 959 seats out of which the CPI(M) alone has won in 910 seats. The party is currently leading in 550 seats. The Congress won 625 seats and is leading in 276.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Other parties which included the newly formed ISF won 219 seats and led in 70 seats, while independents which included TMC rebels won 718 seats and led in 216 seats.

    Counting of votes for the three-tier panchayat polls to nearly 74,000 seats which besides the gram panchayat seats, also includes 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 928 zilla parishad seats, began at 8 am on Tuesday peacefully amid tight security, officials said.

    There are around 339 counting venues spread across 22 districts. The maximum number of counting centres is in South 24 Parganas at 28, while the minimum is in Kalimpong at four. Some northern districts are also facing inclement weather.

    “Counting began at 8 am and is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take time for the ballots to be counted and the results to be compiled,” an SEC official said.

    In Darjeeling hills, out of the 598 seats in Darjeeling and 281 in Kalimpong, the BGPM was leading in 21, whereas the BJP was head in one, and the independents were leading in four.

    All the counting venues are manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents. There are a total of 767 strong rooms across 22 districts.

    Large crowds of supporters of various candidates gathered at various centres to ensure that counting was conducted correctly.

    In various districts, TMC supporters celebrated their victory by dancing and smearing each other with green gulal.

    As initial trends started pouring in, a war of words broke out between the TMC and the BJP, with the latter accusing the ruling party of “making last desperate attempts to loot votes by blocking opposition agents from entering counting centres.” “TMC goons are making desperate attempts to steal the elections by obstructing the counting agents and candidates of the BJP and other opposition political parties from entering counting centres. They are being restricted from going towards the venue, and bombs are being hurled to intimidate counting agents,” leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said.

    Refuting the allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Sensing defeat, they are making baseless allegations.” “Rejected by people and sensing humiliating defeat, this is BJP’s last attempt to come up with lame excuses to make up for its own organisational failures,” he said.

    Violence had rocked West Bengal’s rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.

    Of those killed, 11 were affiliated with the TMC. The total death toll in the state since the poll process began on June 8, when the dates were announced, has crossed 30.

    A voter turnout of 80.71 per cent was recorded on Saturday, whereas a vote percentage of 69.85 was recorded till 5 pm in 696 booths across West Bengal, where re-polling was held on Monday.

    The decision for re-polling was taken after reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers on Saturday.

    A total of 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the panchayat system.

    Saturday’s violence was in keeping with the state’s history of violent rural elections, including the 2003 panchayat polls, which gained notoriety for its cumulative death toll of 76 during the poll process, with nearly 40 killed on the day of polling.

    This year, with more than 30 killed since polls were announced earlier last month, the toll remained almost equal to that of the previous panchayat elections in 2018.

    However, this time, the Opposition had fielded candidates in more than 90 per cent of seats, unlike in 2018 rural polls, when the ruling TMC had won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested.

    In the 2018 rural polls, the ruling TMC had emerged victorious in 90 per cent of the panchayat seats and all the 22 zilla parishads. The elections were marred by widespread violence, with the Opposition alleging they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats.

  • Bhowanipore bypoll: Fresh war of words erupts between BJP and TMC

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: In the midst of Bhowanipore bypolls, a fresh war of words erupted between the TMC and the BJP on Sunday. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting the assembly seat to become an MLA in order to continue as the administrative head of the state.

    TMC minister Firhad Hakim, who is campaigning door-to-door for his party supremo, rubbished BJP’s claim of giving their rivals a tough fight. “Who is she. How the BJP’s candidate is useful? What is her contribution to our society? Is it an edible item or useful for our hair?,” the minister said attacking BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal.

    Priyanka, who is one of the petitioners in post-poll violence cases against the TMC in Kolkata High Court which resulted in a CBI probe, was quick to respond. She said, “I defeated the TMC-ruled state government in the high court. He (Hakim) should have congratulated me first. The verdict of Bhowanipore’s voters on September 30 will help him to identify who I am.”

    Referring to Priyanka’s defeat in the recent Assembly elections from Entally constituency, Hakim labelled her as a bacha meye (young girl). “She is a young girl. She had been defeated earlier in the Assembly elections. As no senior BJP leader was ready to contest against Mamata Banerjee, they have pushed the young girl into this battle-ground,” he said.

    Admitting her contender is a senior politician, Priyanka said, “My rival Mamata Banerjee and her campaigner Firhad Hakim are much senior and older than me. But I am here to fight the battle to save democracy and the people of Bengal from TMC’s terror.”

    Bengal BJP accused the ruling TMC of attacking its candidate in such poor fashion to which the electorates do not approve. “The people of Nandigram rejected Mamata Banerjee and the same verdict she will face in Bhowanipore,” said BJP’s spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya.

    Both the TMC and the BJP has pressed its heavyweights into action for the high-voltage Assembly elections. Mamata assigned her prominent lieutenants like Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and Madan Mitra to launch massive campaign to ensure victory in her erstwhile constituency. The BJP, too, is all set to engage its high-profile campaigners which include Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Bihar’ singer-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari and former TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi, who joined the saffron camp, considering the character of the electorates of Bhowanipore consisting of 40% non-Bengal voters.

  • West Bengal Congress General Secretary resigns, slams Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Congress General Secretary Rohan Mitra on Wednesday resigned from his post stating that he was “humiliated” by state party president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and his “Adhir Sena clique”.

    In the resignation letter, he severely criticized Chowdhury stating that the latter’s attitude towards him had “always been pathetic”.

    “The sycophants surrounding you have not only brought your downfall but also led to the ultimate downfall of the party in the state with no visible signs of revival in near future,” said Mitra in his letter to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

    “Your fragile ego could not handle your removal from the post of Pradesh Congress Chair Presidents back then and you decided to take it on me,” Mitra further wrote.

    Mitra further said, “You humiliated me by cutting my name from the campaigner’s list.”

    Mitra put the blame on Chowdhury’s choices of recruiting the Congress face at Nadia and Central Kolkata for the party’s loss in Behrampur in the recent polls.

    “The people you brought in and put in the position of leadership show how incapable you are as the face of West Bengal Pradesh Congress,” Mitra wrote.

    He accused Chowdhury of hypocrisy. He wrote, “The change in your tone and narrative towards the incumbent Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister of Bengal is a proof of that”.

    “Your vindictive nature was clear to me right at the beginning of your second tenure, yet I went out doing the work of a foot soldier of the party,” he wrote.

    Mitra also hit out at Chowdhury for the alliance with the Furfura Sharif cleric Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF) ahead of the recent Assembly polls.

    “You were the one who went to Furfura to talk to Abbas, you and the CLP opened the doors for the alliance with ISF, even after the humiliation at the brigade rally on 28th February, you still carry on with the alliance which you now deny”, added Mitra.

    He further said: “I congratulate you on your continued reign as the Pradesh president and the ‘Adhir Sena’ clique which you have founded over the Indian National Congress in West Bengal. This is your legacy.” 

  • Bengal saw 25X surge in daily cases between 1st and 8th poll phases

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: With the lockdown to contain a surging Covid-19 cases in West Bengal starting on Sunday, officials in the state’s health department warned the government to strictly impose the restrictions, saying the situation would go out of control otherwise.

    The state has seen a steep surge in Covid-19 cases, blamed on the political gatherings during the course of the recently-concluded eight-phase Assembly elections in the state. During the one month it took to hold the elections, which began on March 27 and concluded on April 29, the state witnessed an unprecedented 25 times surge in daily Covid-19 positive cases.

    On February 26, the day the Election Commission announced the election schedule, about 199 people had tested positive. A month later, on March 27, when the first-phase of the election was held, as many as 646 daily cases were recorded. By the time the fifth phase was held on April 10, the number of daily cases had grown more than ten-fold to 6,910. The chief minister then requested the ECI to conduct the last three phases of the election in one go. But, the poll panel had rejected her request.

    On the day the last phase of the polls was held on April 29, the state recorded a whopping 17,207 new cases in 24 hours. On May 15, the eve of lockdown, a total of 19,511 people tested positive. On the first-day of the lockdown in the state, Kolkata police arrested 158 persons for not wearing masks, four for spitting in public. The police also impounded 59 vehicles and arrested 23 for flouting restrictions.

    The Centre has asked the state government to make use of the services of the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) to conduct door-to-door survey in rural areas of the state. The Centre has also asked West Bengal to reach out to the people in villages and tests their samples as much as possible.

    Man alive, but Hosp issues death certificate

    In a major goof-up by the West Bengal health department, the family of a man, who was under treatment for Covid-19, was handed his death certificate even though he was alive. “All our family members broke down. We went to the mortuary but the body was not there. We then went to the rear portion of the hospital and looked through a window, and we saw my brother sitting on the bed,” said the elder brother of the patient.

  • Mamata Banerjee brings back many top-level police officers removed by Election Commission

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Within hours of assuming office, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday initiated a major reshuffle in the police hierarchy, transferring 29 top- level police officers, mostly those who were shifted by the election commission prior to the polls.

    Among the top-level officers who have been brough back to their former positions are DG Virendra, ADG (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim and DG Security Vivek Sahay, an order issued this evening said.

    Virendra, who was transferred by the election commission and Neeraj Nayan Pandey made DG in his place, has been reinstated to his former position.

    Pandey has been made DG (Fire Services).

    Similarly, ADG (Law and Order) Jagmohan has been transferred to the civil defence and Jawed Shamim who was moved out by the commission alleging police excess during a left rally at Nabanna has been brought back as the ADG (Law and Order).

    In a separate order, Vivek Sahay former DG Security, who was removed by the poll panel alleging lapse in security arrangements of the chief minister after she was injured in a rally in Purba Medinipur district, has been brought back to his former position.

    Gyanwant Singh who worked as ADG Security during the election has retained his post and he has been given the additional responsibility of ADG and IGP of Armed Police.

    Another transferred officer Sanjay Singh, officer-on- compulsory-waiting has been posted as ADG and IG of Western range.

    In the morning chief minister Mamata Banerjee had indicated that she was not happy with the inefficiency of the police in different areas.

    “The administration was not under my control for the last three months. It was under the control of the election commission. There is some inefficiency. We will take decisions regarding this soon,” she had said.

    The state home department, in addition to this, has made some significant transfers like bringing back Monoj Verma as the commissioner of Barackpore Commissionerate.

    Verma was transferred from Barackpore and was made IG of Counter Insurgency Force by the commission.

    Similarly, Mitesh Jain who was made the commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur has been sent to compulsory waiting bringing Ajay Thakur as the commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur Commissionerate.

    Thakur is presently posted as DIG, CID in state police.

    Two more commissioners were transferred.

    Gourav Sharma presently working as Commissioner of Chanadannagar police Commissionerate has been send to Siliguri police Commissionerate as commissioner and Arnab Ghosh presently posted as member secretary of West Bengal Police Reform Board has been made the commissioner of Chandannagar in his Sharmas place.

    DIG, Barasat range Mukesh has also been sent to officer- on-compulsory waiting.

    The government has transferred SPs of 16 districts including Sunderban, Purulia, Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Baruipur Police District, Purba Medinipur, Howrah, Jangipur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Purba Bardhaman, Jhargram, Diamond Harbour and Dakshin Dinajpur.

    Among them there are some officers who were shunted by the commission during election.

    Bhola Nath Pandey who was transferred by the commission following attack on BJP President J P Nadda in Diamond Harbour has been made SP of Alipurduar.

    Similarly, K Kannan who was sent to OCW (officer-on- compulsory-waiting) during the election was made SP of Coochbehar and Soumya Roy who was transferred following the controversy of his wife contesting in the election has been brought back as SP Howrah (Rural).

  • NHRC orders spot inquiry after reports of post-poll violence in West Bengal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ordered a spot inquiry following reports of post-poll violence from several districts in West Bengal.

    The state was in the throes of widespread violence on Monday that allegedly left several BJP workers dead and injured in clashes, and shops being looted, prompting the Centre to seek a factual report from the government on incidents of attack on opposition workers.

    Officials said four people were also killed in alleged clashes between TMC and BJP supporters in Burdwan district on Sunday and Monday.

    The TMC claimed three of them were its supporters.

    ALSO READ | Bengal violence: NCW asks DGP to probe incidents of attack on women; Mamata holds emergency meeting

    The NHRC said it has come across several media reports published in newspapers on Tuesday regarding the death of some people in the alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal on Monday.

    Political workers allegedly clashed with each other, party offices were torched down and some homes were ransacked and valuables also looted, the body said.

    District administration and local law and order enforcement agencies appear not to have acted to stop such violation of human rights of the affected persons, it noted.

    “Considering as a fit case of alleged violation of Right to Life of the innocent citizens, the commission has today taken suo-motu cognizance of the matter and has requested its DIG (Investigation) to constitute a team of officers of the Investigation Division of the commission to conduct an on-the-spot fact-finding investigation and to submit a report at the earliest, preferably within two weeks,” it said in a statement.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • BJP’s ‘arrogance’ among reasons for its defeat in West Bengal polls: Shiv Sena

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday claimed the BJP’s ”arrogance” was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also said the BJP’s “intolerance” was responsible for it being out of power in Maharashtra.

    The comments came days after Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil reportedly asked state NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal to weigh his words while speaking about the saffron party.

    Bhujbal had made certain remarks about the BJP in the context of the recent West Bengal polls, where the saffron party was defeated by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    “When did Maharashtra become so intolerant?” the editorial asked.

    After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, long-terms allies Shiv Sena and BJP parted ways over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

    The Shiv Sena later tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form the state government.

    On Sunday, the TMC romped home in West Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 Assembly seats that went to polls, while the BJP got 77 seats.

    The editorial said Bhujbal had praised Banerjee for her resounding victory, and asked what is wrong in that.

    “The BJP’s arrogance was among the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls,” the Marathi daily said.

    Due to the defeat in West Bengal, the BJP is not ready to enjoy its win in the Pandharpur Assembly bypoll in Maharashtra, the Sena said.

    In a setback to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, BJP candidate Samadhan Autade on Sunday won the by-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly seat in Solapur by defeating his nearest NCP rival by a margin of over 3,700 votes.

    “The MVA lost the Pandharpur bypoll and everyone congratulated the BJP and the winning candidate. But, no MVA leader threatened those who congratulated the winner,” the editorial said.

  • BJP announces nationwide dharna on May 5 against ‘violence by TMC workers’; JP Nadda to visit Bengal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP president JP Nadda will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal starting from Tuesday to hold a protest against the alleged atrocities on party workers in the state by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.

    He will meet the BJP workers and their families affected by the violence and will hold protests in a democratic manner.

    “BJP president JP Nadda will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal starting from Tuesday, May 4 to take stock of the violence under the patronage of the TMC,” BJP said in a release.

    “Within 24 hours of election results, many BJP workers have been murdered. Many workers are seriously injured. The house and shops of many party workers have also been burnt. After Mamata Banerjee’s defeat and Trinamool Congress’ victory in the election results yesterday, the TMC hooligans started celebrating the victory with violence and blood. BJP condemns this,” it added.

    ALSO READ | Three TMC workers, one BJP supporter killed in post-poll clashes in Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman

    The BJP sources said the party will also hold a nationwide dharna on May 5 against the widespread violence unleashed by TMC workers post declaration of the West Bengal Assembly Elections results. The protest will be held following all COVID protocols across all organisational mandals of the BJP.

    Meanwhile, BJP office and some shops in Ghoshpara road of Bhatpara were allegedly vandalised by miscreants and at least 13 crude bombs were hurled in the area on Monday.

    The shopkeepers alleged that TMC was behind the attack as the area is known to be of BJP supporters.

    However, local TMC leader denied the allegations and said BJP’s insiders were behind the incident.

    BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that BJP offices were vanadalised in Howrah.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “TMC goons and workers have vandalised BJP offices in Howrah. The goods have been stolen from there. BJP workers are being beaten into their homes,” tweeted Kailash Vijayvargiya in Hindi.

    “After Mamata ji’s victory, her workers are celebrating and vandalising the houses of BJP workers. More than nine BJP workers have been killed so far,” he said.

    Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress won 213 seats in the just concluded West Bengal assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state assembly. However, elections for two seats in Murshidabad are postponed due to the demise of candidates due to COVID.