Second phase polls in Bengal witness sporadic incidents of violence, marks 80.43% polling till 5 pm

Second phase polls in Bengal witness sporadic incidents of violence, marks 80.43% polling till 5 pm

Biswabrata Goswami

NANDIGRAM, 1 APRIL: The second phase elections for 30 constituencies in West Bengal witnessed sporadic incidents of violence, murder, suicide, complaints of booth jamming, rigging, intimidation and inaction against the security forces. The provisional turnout was 80.43% in Bengal with Nandigram recording 80.79% polling till 5pm.

Inside Post Content (After X Paragraph)

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who herself contested from Nandigram, faced protest from BJP workers when she went to a booth at Boyal in Nandigram after being informed that BJP workers were not allowing voting to take place there. She even remained inside a polling booth in Boyal for two hours.

“We have lodged 63 complaints since morning. But no action has been taken. We will move court over it,” said the chief minister, who sat in a wheelchair outside booth 7 in Boyal in Nandigram.

Trinamul supremo, notably, also made a telephone call to Governor Jagdeep Dhankar from the Boyal booth with the complaint that BJP was fomenting violence. “I have never seen such a bad election in my life. 80 percent votes in Boyal have been rigged,” Mamata said.

Not only Mamata Banerjee, her protégé-turned-rival candidate Suvendu Adhikari also faced the heat of the ruling party workers. His convoy was allegedly attacked with stones at two places while he was visiting the booths spread across Nandigram. Adhikari’s convoy was stopped by TMC supporters who also raised slogans against him. The security forces reached the spot and dispersed the crowd.

“I am used to such protests by TMC goons. They are all followers of Mamata begum (Banerjee). Let them do whatever they want till the results are out on 2 May, he told reporters.

With the beginning of the polls, a report came from Keshpur in West Midnapore where a Trinamul Congress worker, identified as Uttam Dolui, was stabbed to death in the early hours of Thursday.

SP, West Midnapore said that some unidentified miscreants killed a TMC worker with a sharp weapon on Wednesday night in Dadpur village. He also confirmed that eight people have been arrested in connection with the murder.

A BJP polling agent at booth number 173 in Keshpur was beaten up allegedly by TMC workers. The polling agent has been rushed to a hospital. BJP leader Tanmay Ghosh’s car was also vandalised.

A BJP worker was found hanging at his home at Bhekutia in Nandigram, triggering tension in the high-profile constituency. The deceased has been identified as Uday Sankar Dubey, a casual worker of IIT-Kharagpur. Family members of the deceased lodged a complaint with the police that he committed suicide as some unidentified TMC workers had threatened him after he attended superstar Mithun Chakraborty’s rally in the area.

Bharti Ghosh, BJP candidate from Debra constituency, alleged that her polling agent was surrounded by 150 TMC goons in Nowpara, booth no 22, Anchal-1. Ghosh accused Trinamul ‘goons’ of not letting her polling agent enter the booth.

“In Barunia, voters are getting threatened. They are getting threatened before entering the booth. We are receiving sporadic reports from other booths as well,” she added.

At Islampur, booth numbers-209 and 209A in Debra, Ghosh alleged that her polling agent was not allowed to enter the booth. When she reached, she watched that a considerable number of TMC workers were trying to motivate voters. But, later, police arrested a BJP’s mondol sabhapati. BJP workers then put up a road blockade to protest against the arrest.

This apart there are several sporadic incidents of violence in Chandipur, Nandigram, Keshpur, Ghatal and Chadrakona. Journalists were attacked in Keshpur and Nandigram allegedly by TMC workers where their vehicles were damaged and a few photographers and reporters received injuries. 

Share and Enjoy !

Below Post Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *