WB panchayat polls: 41.51% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

A voter turnout of 41.51 percent has been recorded in West Bengal panchayat polls till 1 p.m. on Monday. As polls get underway, a number of incidents of violence have been reported in various parts of the state.

An All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker was shot dead earlier today in Kultali area of South 24 Parganas district in poll-related violence, even as voting continues in the state. Meanwhile, five local journalists were injured during violence after booth capturing in West Bengal's Birpara town, allegedly by TMC workers.

Ballot papers were thrown in a pond after a fresh clash that broke out between TMC and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in West Bengal's Murshidabad town, following which voting had been temporarily suspended.

Clashes were also reported between BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) workers in Durgapur, in addition to clashes in Cooch Behar.
Earlier, a TMC worker, Anarul Mita, suffered bullet injuries in an attack in Cooch Behar's Dinhata on late Sunday night, after which he was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.

On a related note, the voting, which began at 7 a.m. on Monday morning, will continue till 5 p.m. in 621 Zilla Parishads, 6157 panchayat samitis, and 31,827 gram panchayats.
The counting will take place on May 17. (ANI)