EC BANS RALLIES ROADSHOWS IN BENGAL AFTER HIGH COURT RAP

The Election Commission of India on Thursday banned all roadshows and vehicle rallies in West Bengal over concerns that political parties were flouting norms put in place to check the spread of Covid-19, it said in an order just hours after the Calcutta high court came down heavily on the poll watchdog.

Expressing “anguish” that several parties and their candidates were not adhering to norms, the ECI said previous permissions granted stood withdrawn, but public events up to 500 people were allowed.

Earlier in the day, the Calcutta HC expressed dissatisfaction and said the “issuance of circulars” does not “discharge the onerous responsibility of the ECI”.

KOLKATA: Injuries to two people in police firing and stray incidents of violence marked the sixth phase of polling in West Bengal on Thursday that was largely peaceful across four districts and held amid an alarming spike in coronavirus infections in the state. Polling was held for nine seats each in North Dinajpur and Nadia, 17 in North 24 Parganas, and eight in East Burdwan district. Provisional turnout stood at 79.09 %, comparatively lower than the polling percentage recorded in the first five phases. In the sixth phase, 306 candidates were in the fray.

“Polling was today conducted peacefully in 14,480 polling stations,” the EC said. With the sixth phase, polling has been held now for 223 of 294 seats.

At Bagda in North 24 Parganas, a mob allegedly attacked a state police team, injuring a constable and the officer-in-charge of Bagda police station, EC officials said. When police fired three rounds to disperse the mob, two villagers suffered leg injuries. The incident triggered a slugfest between TMC and BJP leaders.