Reports of violence, rigging mar voting
MIDNAPORE/KOLKATA: Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some areas of West Bengal as the eastern state voted in the first phase of assembly elections on Saturday.
A clash broke out between activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Purba Medinipur’s Nandigram constituency — which is set to go to polls on April 1 — leaving at least three persons seriously injured, a senior police officer here said. Seikh Sufiyan, the election agent of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, claimed that goons hired by the BJP carried out the attack on the workers of the state’s ruling party, a charge denied by the saffron camp.
In Contai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu said his vehicle was attacked by miscreants at Sabajput area and his driver was thrashed allegedly by members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Reports also emerged of Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate for the Salboni constituency, Sushanta Ghosh, being attacked by unknown miscreants.
In Begumpur area in the Paschim Medinipur district, a man was found dead outside his home, triggering allegations of poll violence. However, the district administration, in its report to the Election Commission, said that there was no connection of the death to the polls.
In Contai, Soumendu and his brother Dibyendu alleged that TMC block president Ram Govind Das has orchestrated the attack and that he was involved in poll rigging in three booths. Soumendu was, however, unharmed in the incident.
Speaking to ANI, Soumendu said: “Under the leadership of Das and his wife, poll rigging was taking place at three polling booths. My arrival here created a problem for them…due to which they attacked my car and thrashed my driver.”
Meanwhile, Dibyendu said that he informed the police about the incident and called on the EC to take strong action in the matter.
On the Nandigram incident, Sufiyan said, “All three, who sustained injuries during the attack, are activists of the TMC. They were rushed to SSKM hospital in Kolkata. The condition of one of them has been stated to be serious.” BJP goons have “let loose a reign of terror” in Nandigram over the past 15 days, he alleged.
In the Salboni seat of Paschim Medinipur, CPI(M)’s Ghosh was heckled and stones were hurled at his car, police said.
Police personnel posted in the area rescued and escorted him to safety. “This is an attack on democracy. This is a jungle raj that’s going on,” said Ghosh, a former minister in the previous Left Front government.
Some journalists who were reporting on the attack were also manhandled and their vehicles vandalised.
An EC official said that three persons were arrested in connection with the incident and a report has been sought from the district administration. The TMC denied any involvement.
A TMC, led by MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, also urged the EC to bring back the rule which enjoined upon political parties to appoint only people, registered as voters in an assembly segment where an election booth was located, as polling agents for that booth.