WB: Voting begins for single phase Panchayat polls in state

After hectic campaigning and a nomination filing process scarred by violence, polling for panchayats in West Bengal began on Saturday morning under stringent security cover. While there were reports of violence in the state around the filing of nominations, similar incidents took place thereafter as well. In the latest flashpoint, just hours ahead of the panchayat polls, a house was vandalised in Murshidabad as the workers of the Trinamool Congress and Congress came to blows on Friday night. A team from the local police station reached the spot after receiving word of the incident. In another incident, the home of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in West Bengal was allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers. The incident took place in the Kalmati area of Bamanhat II Gram Panchayat of Dinhata. The injured are currently being treated at a private hospital in Coochbehar. Also, police conducted a search operation it received information that crude bombs and weapons have been stockpiled in the South 24 Parganas district. Police said that they received information about bombs and weapons that had been stockpiled to create disturbance during polling for panchayats in the district. However, they added that nothing has been found yet. Just a day ahead of the Panchayat elections war of words escalated in West Bengal amongst Governor CV Ananda Bose, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and TMC.