As the voting for violence-hit panchayat elections concluded on Monday, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and President Droupadi Murmu.
In a statement after meeting Shah, Bose said that "there will be light at the end of the tunnel".
Bose's meeting with Shah and Murmu came after the panchayat elections in West Bengal concluded on Monday after widespread violence and allegations of tempering with ballots and false voting. At least 15 people died during polling.
Bose 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."
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Sources told PTI that Bose briefed Shah about the prevailing situation and his assessment of the polls marred by violence that claimed 15 lives.
The State Election Commission (SEC) held repolling on 696 booths on Monday after voting was declared void there either because of violence or tempering of ballot papers. In several places, ballot boxes were looted and were set on fire and were thrown in ponds. Despite the repolling, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the exercise was a "sham" and that the party had informed SEC that repolling should be held in 6,000 seats where the voting was tempered with. He said the party would approach the High Court over the situation.
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Earlier, 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, reported PTI, adding that he had met the family of an injured person and also visited him at a hospital.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted a photo of Bose with Murmu. It said, "Governor of West Bengal, Dr C.V. Ananda Bose called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan."
In the repolling held on Monday, 69.85 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm. No major incident was reported.
"No major untoward incidents were reported from the districts where repolling is underway. A couple of stray incidents happened and those were managed by the police," an SEC official said to PTI on Monday
