West Bengal is gearing up for the 2023 Panchayat Elections which are scheduled for July 8. The three-tier elections and the two-tier polls in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts will go to voting in a single phase on July 8. Next month, West Bengal will vote for the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads.
The filing of the nominations began on June 9, marred with clashes and violent incidents between the contesting parties. The last date to file nominations was June 15. Notably, the Opposition parties – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) – have alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) prevented their candidates from filing nominations.
The voting across the state is scheduled for July 8, with polling starting at 7 am till 5 pm. The counting of votes will be conducted on July 11. The last date to withdraw nominations was June 20.
About 2,06,295 candidates would contest across all three levels – Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads – for the 2023 Panchayat Elections. While TMC has fielded a total of 71,938 candidates, BJP is contesting 46,404 seats. The CPI(M) and Congress are contesting on a total of 42,910 and 14,615 candidates respectively. In 2018, the TMC emerged victorious across all three levels securing 95 per cent of seats in the Zilla Parishads, 90 per cent in the Panchayat Samitis and 73 per cent of the Gram Panchayat seats.
Gram Panchayats
Per the West Bengal State Election Commission’s report on contesting candidates, available on the commission’s website, the elections for the Gram Panchayat would be conducted on 63,229 seats across 22 districts. A total of 1,70,812 candidates will contest the elections for the Gram Panchayat.
The ruling TMC has fielded candidates on 61,591 seats, whereas the BJP, the second-largest party in the West Bengal Assembly, has fielded candidates on 38,475 seats. The CPI(M) has fielded candidates on 35,411 seats and the Congress has fielded candidates on 11,774 seats.
Panchayat Samitis
The election for the Panchayat Samitis will be conducted on 9,730 seats across 22 districts. A total of 31,016 candidates will contest the elections for the Panchayat Samitis. The ruling TMC has fielded staggering 9,419 candidates for the elections, whereas the BJP will contest on 7,032 seats. The CPI(M), not far behind the BJP, will contest on 6,752 seats, while Congress would contest on 2,197 seats.
Zilla Parishad
The election for the Zilla Parishad will be conducted on 928 seats across 20 districts. A total of 4,467 candidates will contest the elections for the Zilla Parishad. The TMC has fielded candidates on all 928 seats, whereas BJP would contest on 897 seats. The CPI(M) would contest 747 seats, while Congress has candidates on 644 seats.
Controversies Around Panchayat Elections 2023
The West Bengal Panchayat Elections are marred with controversies, from the forced withdrawal of about 20,585 nominations of Opposition parties’ candidates to ruling TMC’s candidate Mohinuddin Gazi filing nomination while in Saudi. The Opposition parties are united in their allegations against the ruling TMC, alleging violence preventing their candidates from filing nominations and the lax behaviour of the State Election Commission.
Notably, BJP Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari moved the Calcutta High Court alleging that the State Election Commission’s wilful non-compliance with the court’s past orders, especially orders pertaining to directions for requisitioning Central Forces to ensure free and fair elections in the state.
On June 21, the court’s Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar, criticised the State Election Commission for requisitioning mere 22 companies of Central Forces, compared to the deployment of 825 companies in 2013.
The court’s oral remarks indicated a sense of doubt about the State Election Commission’s independence. The court further remarked that the Commissioner could step down if unable to take orders, and that the Governor would appoint someone else. The court further remarked that if the commission is “so busy” then they “wind up their business,” stating that if they can’t handle it that they should leave it to the court.
However, the controversies do not end with requisitioning inadequate Central Forces. On June 22, the court’s single judge, Justice Amrita Sinha, heard the case concerning a TMC candidate Mohinuddin Gazi filing nominations from Saudi Arabia. She said, “Some candidates are filing nominations without going (to the centre). Where is the candidate? What needs scrutiny? What are the officers doing?”
Notably, Justice Amrita Sinha directed a CBI probe into a case concerning tampering with the nomination documents of two candidates on June 21, stating that it would not be prudent for the state investigation agency to probe the matter. The court directed the CBI to file a detailed report by July 7, a day ahead of the Panchayat Polls.
On June 22, the Calcutta High Court sought a response from the West Bengal State Election Commission on the anomalous situation concerning the 2023 Panchayat Elections, wherein an astronomical 20,585 withdrawal of nominations has taken place. The court directed the commission to file their affidavit by June 27, 2023 and listed the case for the next hearing on June 28.
In the abovementioned case, the court noted that the court had been flooded with cases concerning the West Bengal Panchayat Elections, observing that the court’s Regular Bench, another Division Bench of the court, and two single-judge benches of the court are engaged with the cases concerning the Panchayat polls.
