Around 4,800 candidates, including 1,500 from BJP and 1,107 from Trinamool Congress (TMC), have withdrawn from the panchayat elections in West Bengal, citing pressure to pull out. This came on the last day for withdrawal of nominations. The political parties claimed that the candidates were forced to withdraw due to threats from TMC. A total of 670 Independents, mostly disgruntled TMC workers who were denied tickets, also backed out of the poll. Violence and clashes were reported in some rural areas, with incidents of intimidation and snatching of poll documents. The Congress alleged that TMC-backed miscreants were involved in fomenting trouble. Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury even sat in protest outside the block development office, accusing TMC-backed miscreants of causing trouble. However, TMC dismissed the allegations. The state poll panel has sought a report on the incidents from the concerned authorities. In separate incidents, a TMC candidate’s husband was shot in the leg and TMC candidates from Basanti claimed they were intimidated into withdrawing from the polls. In Daspur I, Purba Midnapore, CPM supporters alleged that a group of 40 TMC supporters asked their party’s candidate to pull out of the polls. The candidate was reportedly waylaid a second time when she was on her way to the block office. Overall, there were just over 2 lakh contestants left in the fray after the withdrawal of these 4,800 candidates.