Oppn alleges ‘silent rigging’ in seat held by Mamata’s nephew
KOLKATA: No major incident of violence took place in Diamond Harbour, from where Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee is seeking re-election, but Opposition parties alleged large scale “silent rigging” by the state’s ruling party in many of the 1,912 polling stations of the constituency.
Of the nine Lok Sabha seats that went to polls on Sunday, Diamond Harbour was in focus, because 31-year-old Banerjee, who is also the TMC’S youth wing chief, faced a challenge from several opponents — among the 10 in the fray, were candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left and the Congress.
While violence has marked all seven phases of elections in the state, things came to a head when the BJP and the TMC clashed after BJP president Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata, and a bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, was vandalised.
In a press conference on Friday, Shah alleged that 80 BJP workers have been killed in the state.
All polling stations in the state were guarded by Central paramilitary forces. The TMC alleged that the central forces were “brutally torturing” and “intimidating” voters and acting as per orders of BJP leaders.
In turn, the BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged that TMC’S “dummy agents” had prevented polling agents of other parties to enter booths. (TMC),
(BJP),
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Abhishek Banerjee (TMC ) defeated Abul Hasnat (CPI-M)
“They are TMC’S dummy agents. All TMC men were sitting as agents of independent candidates and parties who are insignificant in the area,” alleged Shamik Lahiri, former Diamond Harbour MP and the South 24 Parganas district secretary of the CPI(M).
Subrata Bose and Prabir Sarkar were two independent candidates in the fray, alongside Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’S Goribuddin Mollah.
“Our agents were not allowed to enter or thrown out from more than 500 booths,” Lahiri added.
“Most of our agents were threatened last night and told not to turn up at the polling booths. Some were blocked on their way to the booth this morning, and some of those who dared were thrown out after a few hours of polling,” BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP’S Bengal in-charge, alleged.
“Of all the constituencies, Diamond Harbour stands out for silent rigging,” Vijayvargiya added.
“The Left and the BJP virtually have no organisational strength in these areas. What can we do if they are unable to field polling agents,” said Tamanash Ghosh, MLA of Falta (one of the constituents of Diamond Harbour LS seat) and the treasurer of TMC.
“Polling in Diamond Harbour was peaceful barring a few instances of high-handedness of central forces,” Ghosh added.
In one incident of violence, BJP candidate Nilanjan Roy’s car in Budge Budge area was attacked and vandalized.
“Bike-borne goons came and vandalised my car. We have informed the EC and police super about the incident. The EC has failed to utilise the police and security forces. The poll panel has become a mute spectator. I had told the police that trouble would take place here on polling day,” said Roy.
On Saturday, Abhishek Banerjee served a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that Modi made malicious charges against him from an election rally in Diamond Harbour in South 24-Parganas district on May 15.
The two-page letter demanded unconditional apology within 36 hours from Modi and threatened that if it was not forthcoming, Abhishek Banerjee will initiate “appropriate proceedings” against him.
The contest was primarily between TMC’S Banerjee, Roy and the CPI(M)’S Fuwad Halim, the son of the state’s former assembly speaker. TMC has been in power here since 2009, and won all seven Assembly segments in 2011.