A fight broke out in Cooch Behar in between the TMC party members on Tuesday. An altercation started immediately after National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The fight broke out because TMC proposed to use secret ballots to choose candidates for the panchayat elections.
“For the first time in the nation, such a project has been undertaken. Such a campaign will never be run by the government. However, we think that in a democracy, the people are in charge. The party will officially nominate the candidate you choose using secret ballots”, Banerjee said.
Abhishek Banerjee, the General Secretary of the TMC, was in Cooch Behar to introduce the ‘Trinamool ey Nabo Jowar’ campaign in preparation for the state’s upcoming rural elections. At the conclusion of Banerjee’s speech at the public gathering, party members began to argue.
There was a commotion on stage as party employees hurried to cast their ballots. Fearing they wouldn’t be able to vote, several people tried to damage the ballot box, while others tore up the ballots.
To stabilize the situation, the police had to step in. However, the conflict between the two teams of Trinamool workers and supporters continued. In the midst of the altercation, the vote box was broken.
At a subsequent public gathering in Sitalkuchi, Banerjee said, “Don’t try to break the ballot box. It will be of no use if you try to influence the candidates’ selection. If anyone believes that he or she will win the elections by using such cheap tactics then they are living in a fool’s paradise. The polling will take place at the same location in Gonshaibari on April 26.”
During the two-month campaign, Abhishek Banerjee would travel almost 3,500 km and hold more than 250 rallies throughout the state. In light of corruption allegations and party leader arrests by government agencies, the outreach initiative intends to provide people the authority to choose TMC candidates for future panchayat elections through secret voting.