Voting for Bengal rural bodies begins
Kolkata, May 14: Polling for electing 38,616 representatives across three tiers to West Bengal Panchayat (rural) bodies began at 7am on Monday.
Long queues were seen outside several booths as people from all social and economic backgrounds patiently waited for their turn to exercise their democratic right.
Pre-poll surveys have predicted that the coming rural elections could provide an emphatic answer to the questions, with the BJP predicted to leave the Left Front and the Congress far behind and emerge as the main rival to the Trinamool -- which, the surveys claims, would walk away with the bulk of the seats at all three levels -- panchayat, panchayat samiti and the zila parishad.
As the nomination process started last month, all the opposition parties accused the Trinamool of indulging in strongarm tactics to prevent them from filing nominations.
Television pictures broadcast across the channels showed groups of armed mobs gathering before the offices of the Block Development Officers and the Sub-Divisional Officers in a number of districts and stopping prospective candidates from entering the poll fray.
The matter reached the Calcutta High Court, and the State Election Commission (SEC) extended the deadline for submitting nominations by a day, only to reverse the order in less than 12 hours, allegedly under pressure from the Trinamool.
The judiciary then put a stay on the elections, then scheduled to be held on May 1, 3 and 5. More bitter legal battles followed, at the end of which the SEC declared May 14 as the new polling date.
Statistics reveal that of the total 58,692 seats in the three tiers of rural local bodies, 20,076 seats or 34.2 per cent have already been decided uncontested, with the Trinamool bagging a whopping proportion of these seats.
These seats include 16,814 of the total 48,650 panchayats, 3,059 of the total 9,217 panchayat samitis and 203 of the total 825 zila parishads.
The Supreme Court has now asked the SEC not to issue winning certificates in case of the uncontested seats.
The SEC has, on the other hand, said all arrangements had been made for providing security for the polls. Around 71,500 armed personnel would be on duty, manning every booth.
Armed forces have also arrived from Assam, Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh to strengthen security arrangements.
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India distances itself from Gaurav Arya’s remarks against Iranian Foreign Minister
New Delhi: India on Saturday distanced itself from remarks made by former army officer and television personality Gaurav Arya against Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi objected to Arya's comments.
Arya, in a video shared online, criticised Araghchi for choosing to visit Pakistan before coming to India amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. His remarks sparked a diplomatic reaction from Iran, with its embassy in India responding strongly.
“Respect for guests has a long-standing tradition in Iranian culture,” the Iranian Embassy stated on X (formerly Twitter), while sharing the video. “We Iranians consider our guests to be beloved by God. How about you?”
Following the diplomatic protest, the Indian Embassy in Tehran issued a clarification stating that Arya is a private individual and his views do not reflect the official stance of the Indian government.
“The individual in the video is a private Indian citizen. His statements have no connection with the official position of India,” the embassy stated. “The Government of India considers the disrespectful tone used in the video to be inappropriate.”
The Iranian foreign minister had paid an unscheduled visit to Pakistan on May 5 to hold talks with its top leadership amid increasing tensions with India. He later returned to Tehran before heading to New Delhi to co-chair a bilateral Joint Commission meeting, his first visit to India since becoming Iran’s foreign minister in August 2024.
Last month, Araghchi had also offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to “forge greater understanding” following a series of cross-border incidents.
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