Violence that left 15 people dead and allegations of vote tampering had marred the three-tier panchayat elections held on Saturday, forcing the SEC headed by Rajiva Sinha to order a repoll in affected booths in all but three districts of Bengal.
West Bengal Panchayat Poll Violence News: As many as 19 deaths have been reported so far in widespread violence across the state during the Panchayat election on Saturday
The governor, who visited several violence-hit areas, said it "isn't a very happy situation". "The perpetrators of violence want murder, they want starvation, they want bullets. Instead of waging war, we must learn to wage peace."
The panchayat elections in West Bengal recorded voter turnout of 66 per cent on Saturday, with as many as 13 persons losing their lives in poll-related violence across the state.
Inspector General of Border Security Force SC Budakoti accused the State Election Commission of 'non-cooperation' in force deployment, which, according to him, is a clear violation of the Calcutta High Court's order on this count.