Rural polls: Governor summons Bengal poll panel chief; SEC seeks fresh date

More than 5 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the state's three-tier panchayat elections to elect nearly 74,000 candidates in zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats.

Hours after West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose summoned State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha to Raj Bhawan, the senior officer said he will not be able to meet him due to his preoccupations with panchayat polls, an official said. Sinha requested Bose to exempt him from appearing during the day and give him an appointment any other day, he said.

"Sinha is not skipping. He sought exemption for today. He has requested the Governor to give him time any other day," the official told PTI. Bose had summoned Sinha to Raj Bhavan at 2 pm on Saturday to update him about the violence that claimed four lives in the state and steps taken by the state government to contain the situation.

After visiting Bhangore on Friday, the Governor said measures must be taken end political violence and assured that "perpetrators would be permanently silenced" and brought to book. After talking to local residents and senior police officers there, Bose said violence would not be tolerated.

More than 5 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the state's three-tier panchayat elections to elect nearly 74,000 candidates in zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats.