West Bengal panchayat poll violence: Governor meets HM Amit Shah, says good will come

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday and apprised him about the violence in the state during the panchayat elections two days back, sources said. "The darkest hour is just before the dawn. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. The only message I could get today is if winter comes, can spring be far behind. Good will happen in the days to come," the governor told reporters when asked what transpired in the meeting.

The sources said Bose briefed Shah about the prevailing situation and his assessment of the polls marred by violence that claimed 15 lives.

Bose had visited various places in West Bengal, particularly in the North 24 Parganas district, and took stock of the situation on Saturday during the polling.


He had met the family of an injured person and also visited him at a hospital.

There was widespread violence during the Saturday polling held in over 61,000 booths for the three-tier panchayat elections. Also, ballot boxes were looted, set on fire or dumped in ponds at several places during the violence.

Repolling was held on Monday at 696 booths in 19 districts on the direction of the the State Election Commission following allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence, sources said.