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Bengal panchayat polls | BJP fact-finding team to visit violence-hit areas
The Hindu
BJP fact-finding team visits WB to assess poll violence; TMC mocks team, calls it an attempt to divert attention from its defeat. Team led by Ravi Shankar Prasad to visit north & south Bengal districts. 33 people have died in poll-related violence, with TMC suffering 60% of deaths. TMC poised for landslide win, consolidating control over rural Bengal for 3rd consecutive term.
A BJP fact-finding team, which arrived in West Bengal on July 12, said it will visit areas hit by poll violence and speak to victims to assess the ground situation.
The four-member team led by former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it plans to visit north and south Bengal districts.
“Violence and killings during rural polls are unacceptable. So many people have been killed; why have so many people had to die in this election? We will visit the violence-hit areas of north and south Bengal. Later, we will submit our report to our national president J.P. Nadda,” Mr. Prasad told reporters at the airport.
Also Read | West Bengal panchayat polls | Political blame game over violence
Besides Mr. Prasad, the team includes Satyapal Singh, Rajdeep Roy, and Rekha Verma.
The violence, which rocked the panchayat polls on Saturday, had claimed at least 15 lives while three more were murdered on counting day on Wednesday. Since elections were announced last month, at least 33 people have lost their lives in poll-related violence, with the ruling party suffering 60% of the deaths.
The TMC mocked the fact-finding team and said it was an attempt to divert attention from the party's humiliating defeat.
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