West Bengal panchayat election 2018: Partha refutes opposition allegations of violence

West Bengal panchayat election 2018: Refuting allegations of violence against the Trinamool Congress ahead of the rural polls in West Bengal, its senior leader Partha Chatterjee said the party has in fact tried its best to maintain peace. The rural polls are slated to be held on May 14, according to an announcement of the State Election Commission after the Supreme Court's direction to it to ensure "free and fair" election.

Chatterjee said, "The opposition in several cases have provoked our party workers and leaders. Our party has tried its best to maintain peace. The opposition parties wanted to postpone the elections as they don't have any support base in the state." He wondered what would the opposition parties do on the day of polling if they were afraid to come out on the day of nominations and had pitched for e-filing of nominations.

"I would advice them (Opposition) that if they don't have the courage then they should refrain from coming to politics," the TMC secretary general said. On controversial TMC leader Anubrata Mondal abusing poet Shankha Ghosh, he said the poet should have refrained from making personal attacks through his writings. "I don't support both the incidents. He is one of my favorite poets. I feel he should have refrained from making personnel attacks," Chatterjee said and at the same time lauded Mondal for his organisational skills.

Chatterjee's comment comes in the backdrop of Jnanpith and Padma Bhushan awardee Shankha Ghosh writing a poem criticising the ongoing violence in the panchayat poll process. Mondal had verbally attacked the poet and questioned his credibility as a poet. Chatterjee hoped that his party would emerge victorious in 100 percent seats across the state.