Trinamool Congress Bags Over 34 Per Cent Panchayat Posts Unopposed

In a shocking testament to the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) goondaraj in West Bengal, 34.2 per cent of the panchayat seats up for polls in West Bengal have seen Trinamool candidates win unopposed, Times of India has reported.

Of the total 48,650 panchayat posts, 16,814 have already been won by TMC candidates as no other candidates had filed for the nominations from the seats. 3,059 panchayat samitis and 203 zilla parishad posts have also been decided without contest.

This represents the highest number of unopposed candidates winning in the last 15 years with the previous high being just 11 per cent. All three major opposition parties, BJP, CPI and Congress have alleged that their candidates have been unable to file their nominations due to the threat from TMC goons.

Meanwhile, the state election commission (SEC) has been accused of being ‘insincere’ by the BJP and the party is likely to file a petition questioning the SEC’s handling of the nomination process today (30 April).

The SEC had earlier been directed by the Calcutta High Court (HC) to hold a ‘meaningful’ meeting with the stakeholders in the polls. However, the BJP has said that the meeting held by the SEC wasn’t meaningful at all.

“The commission will have to explain what they mean by a meaningful meeting. The meeting that they held was not meaningful,” said a BJP leader.

Also Read: Mockery Of Democracy In Bengal