West Bengal is set to go to the polls on July 8 to elect 73,887 panchayat representatives, in a high-stakes contest that is being seen as a critical indicator during the run-up to next year’s general election.
A Congress worker in Murshidabad died on the eve of the voting, becoming the 18th victim of political violence since the poll notification was issued on June 8. Though 822 companies of Central forces were set to be deployed in the polls, only 585 had arrived in the State by Friday afternoon.
