INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KOLKATA: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday ordered repoll in 697 of the 61,636 booths where panchayat polls were held on
The repoll, to be held from 7am on Monday, will be held under heavy security bandobast: each booth will have eight armed personnel - four
from central forces and the rest from the state's armed police.The SEC, till late on Sunday, indicated that the count of 697 could be
upwardly revised.Results are expected on Tuesday
Even if it stands at 697, it would easily be the highest number of booths going in for repoll in a decade
In 2018, repolling had been ordered in just 159 booths.According to the SEC, despite violence, Saturday's final turnout stood at 81%, with
East Midnapore witnessing the highest turnout (84.7%) followed by Birbhum (83.1%) and Bankura (83%)
The north Bengal Hills, which witnessed polling for a two-tier panchayat after two decades, saw a lower voter turnout, with 67.2% voters
exercising their franchise in Kalimpong and 65.8% in Darjeeling
There will be no repoll in these two districts, along with Jhargram in south Bengal (which had a 82.4% voting percentage).02:04West Bengal
Panchayat Polls: BJP MP Khagen Murmu alleges ballot rigging, demands re-pollingMurshidabad, which witnessed five poll-day deaths, will see
repolling in 175 booths, followed by Malda (112 booths), Nadia (89), Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46) and North Dinajpur (43)
North Dinajpur, had seen at least four poll-day deaths.An SEC officer indicated that it was not just the scale of violence that had
determined the repoll numbers
It was also based on reports by presiding officers, complaints of ballot-box tampering and unusual vote patterns
"There were some booths where polling was declared void," an officer said.Overall, high turnouts were recorded in south Bengal, with West
Burdwan, with a 72.5% turnout, among the low-scoring districts
West Midnapore (82.5%), which had relatively peaceful polls, will have repoll in 10 booths
In East Midnapore, repoll will be held in 31 booths
South 24 Parganas will have repoll in 36 booths.
