Bengal panchayat polls to be held in single phase on July 8, nominations start today

The State Election Commissioner of West Bengal, Rajeev Sinha, announced on Thursday (June 8) that the panchayat elections in the state will be held in a single phase on July 8. However, the announcement has sparked a political uproar and accusations from opposition leaders, particularly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shubhendu Adhikari, a prominent BJP leader and the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha, criticized the announcement, linking it to a "killing of democracy." Adhikari expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that the elections were unilaterally announced without any all-party meetings at the block, district, or state level. He further raised concerns about the lack of discussions on security arrangements for the elections, which will be conducted in a single phase.

Adhikari took to Twitter to voice his concerns, accusing the West Bengal State Election Commission of having ulterior motives and acting as a front organization for the regional Trinamool Congress (TMC) party. He held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and State Election Commissioner Rajeev Sinha responsible for any potential violence during the elections due to the rushed announcement and inadequate security measures.

Amit Malviya, the in-charge of BJP's IT department and co-incharge of the party for West Bengal, also criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, suggesting that she could directly announce the election results instead of going through the electoral process.

According to the State Election Commissioner's announcement, nominations for the panchayat elections can be filed from June 9, with the last date for filing nominations being June 15. The withdrawal of nominations can be done until June 20. The votes will be counted on July 11. The three-tier Panchayati Raj system, comprising Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, and Zilla Parishad, will be involved in these elections.