IN COVID’S SHADOW, SIXTH PHASE OF POLLING IN WEST BENGAL TODAY
KOLKATA: Forty-three constituencies in West Bengal will vote in the sixth phase of assembly elections on Thursday, in the shadow of a rising surge of infections in the eastern state that has seen thousands attend political rallies without wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) – which have only now curtailed rallies in the state – are striving to gain an edge in the constituencies that go to the polls on Thursday.
Polling will be held in nine seats in North Dinajpur, nine in Nadia, 17 in North 24 Parganas and eight in East Burdwan district. Voting will take place amid an unprecedented spike in coronavirus infections in the state.
Meanwhile, the administration tightened security in North 24 Parganas where an unidentified man was killed and another was injured in an explosion on Tuesday night in Titagarh.
A young man died and explosions rocked south Bengal as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) geared up for a close contest across 43 seats in the sixth phase of the ongoing assembly elections on Thursday.
Polling will be held in nine seats in North Dinajpur, nine in Nadia, 17 in North 24 Parganas and eight in East Burdwan district. Voting will take place amid an unprecedented spike in coronavirus infections with the state posting 10,784 cases and 58 deaths on Wednesday.
TMC had won 22 out of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and the BJP won 18. If results were extrapolated to assembly constituencies for the 43 seats in this phase, the BJP was ahead in 19 and TMC in 24.
The 2019 results were a drastic realignment compared to the 2016 assembly elections, when TMC had won 32 of the 43 seats going to the polls on Thursday, the Left-Congress alliance won 11 and BJP none.
In the sixth phase, the administration tightened security in North 24 Parganas where an unidentified man was killed and another was injured in an explosion on Tuesday in Titagarh.
Arjun Singh, the BJP Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore, alleged that bombs went off near his home at Bhatpara but the police harassed local residents instead of arresting the culprits. “The BJP is confident of winning most of the seats in North 24 Parganas. The only seat where the contest will be tough is Swarupnagar. Fearing defeat, the TMC is resorting to violence,” Singh said.
“We have started a probe and raids are being conducted,” an officer from Bhatpara police station said requesting anonymity.
“The administration is taking action. BJP leaders are making baseless allegations,” said Jitendra Shaw, TMC candidate from the Bhatpara assembly seat, held by Arjun Singh’s son Pawan Singh, the BJP candidate.
In Noapara, the BJP has fielded sitting legislator and
Arjun Singh’s brother-in-law Sunil Singh, who, like many other BJP leaders in the fray, left TMC in 2019.
Former TMC leader and BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy’s son Subhranshu Roy is contesting from Bijpur in North 24 Parganas while Roy himself is contesting the Krishnanagar North seat in Nadia district against actress Kaushani Mukherjee from TMC. In North 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia, the BJP has made deep inroads with support from the Dalit Namasudra community.
During their frequent visits to the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah announced the Centre will resolve the problem of citizenship of the Namashudra community.
In North Dinajpur district, the BJP’s campaign had focused on illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and plight of Hindu families that came to India as refugees. The strategy had helped the BJP win seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats of north Bengal in 2019.