Advertisement

West Bengal panchayat elections 2018 - Counting of votes on Thursday: All you need to know

More than 60,000 armed personnel from West Bengal and neighbouring states were deployed for the panchayat polls. 

West Bengal panchayat elections 2018 - Counting of votes on Thursday: All you need to know Shantipur polling station, Nadia district, West Bengal (Pic courtesy: PTI)

Kolkata: The results of West Bengal panchayat elections will be declared on Thursday. The voting was held on May 14, 2018.

Following are some of the key highlights of the polls:

# 73 percent of the electorate had turned out to cast their vote.

# More than 60,000 armed personnel from West Bengal and neighbouring states were deployed for the panchayat polls. As many as 80,000 civic volunteers were also deployed to guard the polling premises.

# Widespread violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal had left at least 12 people dead.

# Violence had broken out in North and South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Burdwan, Nadia, Murshidabad and South Dinajpur districts.

# Polling booths were mainly targeted during the violence after clashes broke out between Trinamool Congress supporters and opposition party workers. Crude bombs were also hurled near several polling stations.

# The panchayat polls were held after a protracted legal battle in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court involving the SEC, the TMC and the Opposition parties.

# Around 68 percent voter turnout was recorded in the repolls held in 572 booths across West Bengal districts on Wednesday.

# The BJP said they had demanded re-polling at 2,300 booths across the state. "In today's repoll too there were incidents of violence and in few places, police acted swiftly. We had demanded repolling in 2,300 booths, but the SEC conducted repolling only in 572 booths," state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.

# On April, 28, after the last day for withdrawal of candidature, the SEC had released a list saying that of the 48,650 seats in 3,358 gram panchayats, 16,814 were uncontested and of the 9,217 seats in 341 panchayat samitis, 3,059 were uncontested, PTI reported. In the 20 zilla parishads, 203 of the 825 seats were uncontested.

# According to SEC, of the 48,650 seats in 3,358 gram panchayats, 16,814 were uncontested and of the 9,217 seats in 341 panchayat samitis, 3,059 were uncontested.

Following are the districts of West Bengal: 

Malda division - Malda district, Uttar Dinajpur district, Dakshin Dinajpur district and Murshidabad district.

Burdwan division - Birbhum district, Hooghly district, Paschim Bardhaman district and Purba Bardhaman district.

Jalpaiguri division - Alipurduar district, Cooch Behar district, Darjeeling district, Jalpaiguri district, Kalimpong district.

Presidency division - Howrah district, Kolkata district, Nadia district, North 24 Parganas district (Uttar 24 Parganas) and South 24 Parganas district (Dakshin 24 Parganas).

Medinipur division - Bankura district, Jhargram district, Purulia district, Purba Medinipur district and Paschim Medinipur district.