Singur to hold village council polls amidst tight security

Singur (West Bengal), May 13 : Heavy security has been deployed in the industrial hub of Singur in West Bengal ahead of village council polls on May 14.

The results of the village council polls in Singur and Nandigram is expected to mirror the fears of the people on the forced usurping of their agricultural land for industrialisation.

However, the Communists are upbeat about their industrialisation plans and argue that it will provide mass employment, something which farmers are skeptical about.

"Despite the misleading propaganda by opposition leaders, industralization has touched the locals who till now were only aware of farming and they back the revitalization moves. All the Communist candidates will win with a huge margin," claimed Dibakar Das, a Communist Party of India (CPI) leader.

The first phase of the three-tier panchayat polls (village council elections) got underway to a smooth and peaceful start on Sunday. Five districts of the state, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Vardhaman went to polls.

Despite peaceful polling in these districts, all eyes are on Singur and Nandigram Midnapore, which will be a litmus test for political parties in the state.

The third phase of the polls would take place on May 14 and 18 respectively.

ANI