Opposition leaders claim of being stopped from filing panchayat nominations in Bengal

Kolkata, 13th June 2023: Police authorities reported several incidents of clashes as unidentified individuals allegedly attacked opposition leaders on their way to register candidature papers for panchayat elections.

Daspur (Paschim Medinipur), Kakdwip (South 24 Parganas), Raninagar (Murshidabad), Saktinagar and Barshul (both in Purba Bardhaman), and Minakhan (North 24 Parganas) were among the places where occurrences were reported.

According to the official, a CPI(M) party office in Minakhan, Basirhat subdivision, was “vandalised,” and the candidate was “assaulted” by unidentified people as he prepared to file his nomination.

The news came on the same day that the SEC asked all district magistrates and police superintendents to issue prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CRPC within a 1-kilometre radius of all nomination centres.

The orders, issued on Sunday, will be in effect until Thursday. The panchayat elections are set for July 8. According to the SEC source, nearly 10,000 nomination papers have been filed thus far.

Meanwhile, the SEC informed the Calcutta High Court that it might extend the deadline for filing nominations for panchayat elections by one day, to June 16.

After hearing applications from opposition leaders seeking an extension of the deadline for filing nominations and the deployment of central troops for the July 8 elections, the court ruled on June 9 that the time allotted for filing paperwork is, on the surface, insufficient.