Kolkata: The third phase of panchayat polls, which is underway in Howrah, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas in West Bengal, claimed two lives on Friday. A worker of Communist Party of India (Marxist), who was hurt in a crude bomb explosion in Amdanga, has succumbed to his injuries. A Trinamool Congress leader was also killed on Friday after he was allegedly shot by CPM workers in Lakshmikantapur in South 24 Parganas district.
This even as West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan on Friday met the President and the Prime Minister and briefed them about the law and order situation in the state which has witnessed a spate of violence during the ongoing panchayat polls. "Many CRPF personnel are to be deployed. ... I hope they are deployed. It is important to ensure safety and security of people participating in the (panchayat) elections so that they give certain sense of confidence. I am hoping that they have been deployed," he said.
His comments came on a day when the state witnessed sporadic violence during the third phase of panchayat election, with the opposition CPM alleging that people were stopped from voting in several areas of East Midnapore. Narayanan was speaking after he met President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Later, he had a meeting with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde at the latter's official residence in Delhi.
There has been a spate of violent incidents in the run-up to the panchayat polls, including killings and ransacking of houses of opposition activists and party offices. Senior leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress, including MPs, have also allegedly been caught on tape indulging in rabble-rousing against political opponents.
The Governor parried questions on his discussions with Shinde, just saying that the Union Home Ministry had provided the central forces. "It is for the state government to help the State Election Commission to maintain law and order," Narayanan said.
(With additional information from PTI)
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