Bengal polls: Over 78% voter turnout in 5th phase
■ Sporadic incidents of clashes between TMC and BJP supporters were reported from some parts of state
The fifth phase of the Assembly Election covering 45 seats in six districts of West Bengal recorded 78.36% voters turnout on Saturday amid sporadic incidents of violence during which a Trinamul Congress worker was shot at in an attack allegedly by the BJP activists in Nadia.
Till the reports last came till 5 pm, while Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Darjeeling of North Bengal reported 81.73%, 69.56% and 74.31% polling respectively, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Burdwan East in South Bengal clocked 81.57%, 74.83% and 81.72% polling serially. A revised figure is expected from the Election Commission on Sunday.
In North 24 Parganas, 16 seats that went to the polls included Dum Dum, Bidhannagar (Salt Lake), Kamarhati and Rajarhat New Town. Though the EC described the fifth phase as “peaceful,” incidents of attacks and counter-attacks between the ruling TMC and BJP workers took place at various places in the three South Bengal districts.
At Santipur in Nadia, a TMC worker, Santu Baul, was shot at when he was returning home after casting his vote. He suffered bullet injuries on his left hand. The ruling party
◗ TILL THE reports last came till 5 pm, while Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Darjeeling of North Bengal reported 81.73%, 69.56% and 74.31% polling respectively, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Burdwan East in South Bengal clocked 81.57%, 74.83% and 81.72% polling serially
◗ MEANWHILE, THE EC adjourned the polling at two Murshidabad seats: Shamshergunj and Jangipur after the deaths of two candidates: Rejaul Haque Biswas of the Congress and Pradip Nandi, a Sanjukta Morcha candidate from the RSP of the Left Front due to Covid-19
blamed the BJP for the shooting. Its workers however clashed with the BJP workers at Gayeshpur, hurled bombs and attacked their homes. Chaitanya Acharya, a BJP worker, was injured.
At Kamarhati where former TMC minister Madan Mitra contested, his rival candidate Raju Banerjee of the BJP claimed that his car was attacked by TMC workers in Belghoria. Mr Mitra however fell ill after supervising the polls amid heat in the constituency throughout the day. In the morning allegations surfaced against the central paramilitary forces of opening fire again, this time at Kurulgachha in Deganga of North 24 Parganas. The villagers blamed the Central Reserve Police Force jawans posted at booth no 215 for the firing in the air. The EC sought a report immediately from the district administration. The Barasat district police in its inquiry report to special police observer Vivek Dube stated however that no proof of firing was found after looking into the matter with the CRPF officials.
Meanwhile, the EC adjourned the polling at two Murshidabad seats: Shamshergunj and Jangipur after the deaths of two candidates: Rejaul Haque Biswas of the Congress and Pradip Nandi, a Sanjukta Morcha candidate from the RSP of the Left Front due to Covid-19. While Biswas was a candidate at Shamshergunj, Nandi was fielded at Jangipur.
At many places, voters were seen without masks amid the resurgent coronavirus, raising concerns. The security forces ensured social distancing at the booths, while election officials provided masks, hand sanitiser and polythene glove to the voters. West Bengal on Saturday registered its highest single- day spike of 7,713 Covid cases, taking the tally to 6,51,508, bulletin released by the state health department said.