Re-poll of re-polls: A rare show in Bengal

KOLKATA: The State Election Commission has announced repoll in two of the total 573 polling booths that went to re-polls on Wednesday, leading to a “repoll of re-polls” rarely witnessed in the state’s electoral history. Miscreants had snatched ballot papers in these two booths coming under the Fulbari gram panchayat of Jalpaiguri’s Rajganj. They will go to re-polls on Sunday and results will be announced on Monday.

The ruling Trinamool till the last counting on Friday gained an absolute majority in as many as 10 zilla parishads (one zilla parishad in one district) of the total 20 zilla parishads — North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Bankura, Hooghly, Jalpaiguri and South Dinajpur — where the Opposition couldn’t win a single zilla parishad seat.These are apart from the Birbhum zilla parishad where Trinamool candidates had won uncontested in all the 42 seats. But the results have been withheld following directions from the Supreme Court that will take up the matter for hearing on July 3.
The poll panel is yet to announce the results in as many 314 gram panchayat seats and 95 panchayat samiti seats. “Counting in these seats are complete. But there are some formalities that we have to finish before handing over of certificates to the winners on Monday,” an official said.
The commission’s re-poll decision has failed to impress the Opposition that had been complaining since the beginning of the electoral process — from the day of nomination to the ruling party’s violence in counting centres. “This is nothing to the scale of violence in the state rural polls. What the Trinamool miscreants did at Nadia’s Majdia counting centre on Thursday is on record. Nadia is no exception. I got a message from our party workers yesterday night that our counting agents are being driven out of the centres during the counting of zilla parishad votes. Trinamool MP Arpita Ghosh reached a counting centre at Balurghat to manipulate the counting in Trinamool’s favour. All the Trinamool MLAs and MPs were instructed by the Trinamool chief to reach the counting centres. Otherwise, how can it be that BJP candidates who won gram panchayat and panchayat samiti seats couldn’t win the zilla parishad seats in some areas?” said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
Trinamool general secretary Partha Chatterjee didn’t respond to the BJP allegations. “Development work was stalled for the last 40 days. Now it is time to do work,” Chatterjee said.
What has struck the Opposition is that the state election commission didn’t order a repoll in Nadia’s Majdia counting centre when the malpractice was in public view. “There were efforts to stamp ballot papers. We have addressed the problem,” state election commissioner Amarendra Singh said on Friday.
Meanwhile, house of a BJP candidate was set on fire in Sonarpur. The BJP state president complained that the houses of BJP activists have been attacked at Ganagasagar and Patharpratima too.