“All parties, including the Congress, are demanding that the panchayat elections be held on a single day. The CPM wants three-day elections because then it would get time to mobilise its cadres from one part of the state to another to terrorise the voters,” the newly appointed chief of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, told reporters.

Senior party leaders, Pradip Bhattacharya, Abu Taher and Nepal Mahato are expected to meet Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on March 1 regarding this issue.

Dasmunshi, who is also the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, demanded deployment of additional forces in the state to hold free and fair elections. Making it clear that Nandigram would dominate the poll campaign, he said the party would observe March 14 as Nandigram Diwas.

“Killing of innocent farmers during the Nandigram firing and the ration scams are major issues. We will also organise movements for proper rationing system in the districts,” Dasmunshi added. The Union minister also spelled out the detailed plan of his party’s campaign for the polls.

“On March 1, we will hold fresh meetings with all Congress MLAs, district committee presidents and other leaders. This will be followed by statewide movement from March 10, where our supporters will visit BDOs at 361 blocks over issues like rural development, jobs cards, 100 days work under the NREG scheme,” Dasmunshi told reporters.