Apprehending massive violence allegedly by the Trinamul Congress supporters terrorising BJP panchayat candidates to file nomination paper for the panchayat election, the state BJP is going to launch movement across the state demanding online submission of the nomination paper.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said that the party will launch movement across the state demanding online submission of the nomination paper as chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself asked Trinamul Congress supporters and leaders to ensure that all the panchayat must be formed without Opposition.

“We are apprehending that BJP candidates will be beaten up and prevented in rural belt if they try to file nomination paper for the panchayat polls as chief minister wants Opposition free panchayats.

So the role of the state police will be questionable whether they will be willing to prevent any untoward incident during the filing of the nomination paper by our candidates,” said Mr Ghosh.

Mr Ghosh said their party workers, even before the panchayat polls, are being terrorised and beaten up in several places as the TMC-backed goons want to grab control of the areas.

“We are apprehending that massive violence could take place to terrorise our supporters forcing them not to file nomination. Several of our supporters were already evicted from their residences by Trinamul Congress goons.

Our party offices in village areas were vandalised. Police and State Election Commission (SEC) will not help our supporters to file nomination,” Mr Ghosh said.

The state BJP also demanded SEC must ensure that panchayat candidates could file nomination paper in the SDO offices.

On Monday, Mr Ghosh, BJP leader Mukul Roy and other BJP leaders visited Raj Bhawan and met Governor KN Tripathi and also urged him to see the matter.
“We urged Governor to see the matter and speak to SEC immediately online submission matter as he is the constitutional head,” he said.

Earlier, in a bid to ensure that BJP party candidates could contest from all the booths for panchayat election, Central party leaders of the BJP have asked the state party leaders to complete the list of the panchayat candidates within March.

The central party instructed the senior state committee leaders to ensure that BJP candidates could file nomination for the all booths. Party also fixed some guidelines for selection of the candidates, who will contest poll for BJP in panchayat.

BJP is also preparing a list of the sensitive areas, where their candidates could face attack. The state BJP did not get any panchayat samity, zila parishad in 2013 panchayat poll, however, it got only 31 panchayats.

A BJP delegation led by Mukul Roy already met commissioner of the SEC Amarendra Kumar Singh and urged him to deploy Central forces adequately for free and peaceful panchayat election as unprecedented violence had been witnessed in the last panchayat poll during Trinamul Congress regime. In 2013 panchayat poll was held in five phases.

SEC office wants to conduct the panchayat poll in a few phases and so it wrote a letter to know the state government’s opinion regarding this issue.