EC says no to Opp on panchayat polls

The state Election Commission today rejected the demand of the Trinamool Congress-BJP combine for postponement of the panchayat elections in West Bengal over alleged intimidation of Opposition candidates by the ruling CPI(M), saying there was no ground for it.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s appeal last week asking party workers to refrain from forcibly stopping Opposition candidates to file nomination papers seems to have worked.

Yesterday, the last date of filing nomination papers saw 60,000 candidates out of a total number of 1,53,000 filing their nominations. The polls will be held on May 11.

The CM’s appeal came after the opposition Trinamool Congress leaders apprised him of CPI(M) cadres’ unleashing terror in the villages prior to the polls. The CM’s appeal virtually vindicated the Opposition’s stand.