West Bengal panchayat elections: The state is still seeing political scuffles

While local BJP leader Sukumar Roy stated that TMC members attacked them, TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy asserted that BJP-backed goons stormed their party office.A new skirmish broke out between members of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar on Wednesday. Politically motivated clashes have continued in some areas of West Bengal ahead of the crucial three-tier panchayat elections scheduled for July 8.According to locals, at least two rounds of ammunition were discharged, and a motorbike was also set on fire.A TMC employee had been shot and killed just 24 hours before, and six further people had been hurt at Dinhata in the same neighbourhood on Tuesday morning.

While local BJP leader Sukumar Roy stated that TMC members attacked them, TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy asserted that BJP-backed goons stormed their party office.While this was going on, opposition parties claimed that duplicate ballots were manufactured in order to rig the election.
“Ballots are being printed in duplicate. When the ballot boxes are on their way from the polling site to the strong room, these would be used on election day to substitute the actual ballot papers. The state is engaged in a deadly game. To guarantee victory, the TMC aims to substitute duplicate ballots for the people’s mandate, according to Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.