WB Polls: 78pc turnout amid sporadic clashes in 3rd phase
An estimated 78 percent turnout was recorded despite sporadic incidents of violence and stray clashes in the polling for the third phase of West Bengal assembly elections for 31 seats yesterday.
West Bengal in India was the most important, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist BJP party attempting to win power there for the first time in what would be a major symbolic victory.
The state, home to about 90 million people, has seen thousands killed in decades of political violence, and the current campaign has triggered deadly clashes between supporters of the BJP and the ruling TMC party.
The TMC, headed by fierce Modi critic Mamata Banerjee, has accused the BJP of attempting to import divisive sectarian politics into the state, which has a large Muslim minority.
The third phase of West Bengal assembly elections was held across three districts--Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas.
The Election Commission said in a statement the turnout in the third phase was 77.68% till 5:00 pm.
The commission suspended a sector officer after three EVMs and four VVPAT machines were found at TMC leader Goutam Ghosh's residence.
Voters were being intimidated into staying away from polling stations "in hundreds of villages", Dilip Ghosh, a senior local BJP member, told AFP.
Samiran Mitra, BJP candidate from Hooghly alleged that three BJP workers were beaten up by TMC workers at Sipaigachi in Haripal of Hooghly.
TMC turncoat and BJP candidate from Diamond Harbour seat, Dipak Haldar alleged that his former party is not allowing voters to come to polling stations.
Meanwhile, the TMC has accused BJP workers of chasing and hurting party leader Sujata Mondal near a polling booth and urged the EC to take cognisance of the issue. Dr Nirmal Maji, TMC candidate from North Uluberia, was heckled at his constituency.
Mamata alleged "blatant misuse" of central forces to "influence voters".
"The blatant misuse of Central forces continues unabated. Despite us repeatedly raising this issue, @ECISVEEP continues to be a mute spectator while men in uniform are being misused at several places to openly intimidate TMC voters & influence many to vote in favour of one party," she tweeted.
She shared a screengrab of a scuffle between BJP and TMC supporters in Goghat constituency.
In Dhanekhali seat, state minister Asima Patra accused the central forces of high-handedness and alleged that voters were being stopped from coming to the polling stations by the BJP "goons", an allegation dismissed by the saffron party.
In Khanakul, TMC candidate Najmul Karim was allegedly assaulted by the BJP activists and slogans were raised against him. Later, central forces rescued him from the area, reports TNN.
A BJP supporter's family member was allegedly killed in Hooghly district, hours before the commencement of polling in the area, police said.
Madhabi Adak succumbed to her injuries sustained while protecting her son from a few men who barged into their house, they said. Adak's family accused that the TMC was behind the incident, a charge denied by the party.
STALIN'S ALLIANCE
Because of the need for extra security, West Bengal has spread its election over eight phases culminating on April 29.
The north-eastern state of Assam, home to 32 million people, was also holding the last out of three phases yesterday, with the BJP vying to hold on to power.
The state is polarised along ethnic and religious lines, with immigration from neighbouring Bangladesh one of the biggest campaign issues.
A "citizenship list" in Assam state in 2019 left off almost two million people unable to prove they were Indian, many of them Muslims, a process many fear the BJP wants to roll out nationwide.
The southern regions of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry also went to the polls, with local parties dominating the race but the BJP hoping to make inroads.
In Tamil Nadu an alliance led by MK Stalin -- named by his father after the late Soviet ruler -- was aiming to win power with his DMK party.
In Kerala the Left Democratic Front, a coalition including two communist parties, was fighting to retain power against an alliance led by Congress, the BJP's main national rivals.
Puducherry, a small former French colony previously known as Pondicherry, has been rocked recently by political defections and resignations leading to the collapse of its Congress-led government.
Results from all the elections, which come two years after Modi was elected to a second straight term, are due on May 2.
Comments