Bengal Panchayat Elections: SEC Orders Videography Of Nomination Process Amid Violence

Amid incidents of violence, the State Election Commissioner (SEC) has ordered videography of the nomination filing process in West Bengal Panchayat elections.

The move comes after West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose vowed that the upcoming Panchayat elections would be free and fair.

"Looking at the ongoing violence in the process of nomination filing, the State Election Commissioner has ordered the videography of the Nomination filling process in West Bengal Panchayat elections to be held on July 8 for the free and fair proceedings of nomination filing, "the State Election Commissioner said in a statement.

Governor Ananda Bose on Saturday asserted that violence will not be tolerated in the ensuing panchayat elections in the state.

"Ever since the announcement of the panchayat elections, political parties have been flooding the governor with requests of intervention to ensure peace and harmony during the election. They came out with a number of suggestions expressing their apprehension about the likelihood of 'muscle raj' in the coming elections in the state," Bose said in a statement.

"The governor assured them that the elections will be held in a free and fair manner. He also reiterated that violence will be the first casualty in the ensuing election. He said that the ensuing panchayat election will prove the victory of democracy and the defeat of mobocracy," the statement added.

Notably, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar met Bose at Raj Bhavan with complaints about the nomination filing process, and state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote to him on the same issue.

The West Bengal panchayat election will be held in a single phase on July 8.