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| Pic credit: PTI |
On Monday, repolling began at 7 am in 696 booths across 19 districts of West Bengal. This step was taken after the panchayat elections were declared void due to allegations of ballot box tampering and violence that resulted in the death of 15 people.
The repolling will continue until 5 pm, with each booth receiving the protection of four central force personnel in addition to state police. Tight security measures are in place.
Officials informed that the decision for repolling in these 696 booths was announced by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening after reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers.
According to officials, Murshidabad, the district most affected by violence, had the highest number of booths at 175 among those where repolling was being held. Malda followed with 109 booths, and 89 booths in Nadia also required repolling.
Other districts with repolling include Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31), and Hooghly (29). However, no repolling was ordered in Darjeeling, Jhargram, and Kalimpong districts.
The three-tier panchayat elections were held on Saturday in over 61,000 booths, with ballot boxes being looted, set on fire, and thrown into ponds in several places, leading to violence. A total of 5.67 crore people residing in the state's rural areas were eligible to vote for 2.06 lakh candidates contesting in 73,887 seats of the panchayat system.
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