The West Bengal State Election Commission on Tuesday ordered re-polling in 568 booths for the panchayat elections, after violence killed at least 18 people on Monday. “We have ordered re-polling in 568 booths spread across 20 districts of the state,” an unidentified official said according to PTI.
The official said that the state government and the police have been asked to make elaborate security arrangements, so that voting can be held in a free and fair manner.
The re-polling will take place on Wednesday, and results for all booths announced on Thursday. Voting will take place in 10 booths in Hooghly district, 28 booths in West Midnapore, 52 booths in Coochbehar, 63 booths in Murshidabad, 60 booths in Nadia, 59 booths in North 24 Parganas, 55 booths in Malda, 73 booths in Uttar Dinajpur and 26 booths in South 24 Parganas district, among others, PTI said.
The Calcutta High Court permitted the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Party of Democratic Socialism to file appeals against the violence in the state, The New Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, violence continued in the state on Tuesday, with the toll rising to 23. Trinamool Congress worker Subid Ali Mollah was lynched allegedly by a mob comprising members of the the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) group and the Bharatiya Janata Party in South 24 Parganas district. One Trinamool Congress worker was killed in Ranaghat city of Nadia district, and two others in North 24 Parganas.
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