1st Phase Polling in Bengal and Assam is Over
Bureau,Odishabarta
New Delhi: A total of 79.79 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of polling in 30 Assembly seats in West Bengal on Saturday, while the turnout was a little over 77 per cent in Assam where 47 seats went to the polls in the first phase, as per the data released by the voter turnout app of the Election Commission of India.
More than half of the 73-lakh electorate in Bengal’s 30 Assembly constituencies have cast their ballot and sealed the fate of 191 candidates who were in the fray on the first day of the eight-phase elections in West Bengal, where five districts went to the polls on Saturday. At least 21 female aspirants are contesting the elections in West Bengal, while 23 are in the fray in Assam.
In Bengal, the serpentine queues showed people are aware of the importance of the crucial poll that is seeing a bitter battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP that has pitched every high-profile leader into campaigning in West Bengal.
As per the latest figures from Bengal, the approximate voter turnout trend till 5 pm in Bankura was the highest at 80.03 per cent, Jhargram at 80.55 per cent, Purbo Medinipur at 82.42 per cent, Paschim Medinipur at 80.16 per cent and Purulia at 77.13 per cent, according to the Election Commission’s voter turnout app.
“The turnout of voters is estimated at over 77 per cent. The percentage may increase a bit after the final compilation of reports from all the returning officers,” a senior election official said.
In Bengal’s East Midnapore, two security personnel were reportedly injured in a firing incident that took place early Saturday at Satsatmal, Bhagwanpur Assembly constituency ahead of voting. Tension prevailed in Tulsidi village where the incident took place. Security forces are keeping a close vigil in the area, surrounded by forests that were once Maoist hideouts.
There were reports of EVM malfunctioning at 20 booths in Bankura district, eight in Jhargram and 39 in Purulia. EVMs in various booths had stopped working temporarily due to a technical glitch. People said they had to wait for more than two hours to cast their ballot.
In Purulia, allegations were raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against a former minister and Trinamool candidate of purportedly distributing cash among voters. The BJP has filed a complaint with the poll body.
Suvendu Adhikari’s brother and BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari accused Trinamool block president Ram Govind Das and his wife of poll rigging at three polling booths, saying “my arrival here created a problem for them to continue with their mischief, so they attacked my car and thrashed my driver”. Dibyendu Adhikari, another of the Adhikari siblings, told the media he got to know that his brother’s vehicle was attacked in Contai with the help of Trinamool block president Ram Govind Das. “Soumendu isn’t injured. The driver was beaten up. I’ve informed the Police Observer.”
In Assam, voting began across 11,537 polling stations, mostly covering eastern Assam’s 12 districts, at 7 am. A total of 8,109,815 voters, including 4,032,481 females, are eligible to cast their ballots. Covid-19 protocols for the voters, including social distancing and thermal screening, are being maintained. Election officials said that to avoid crowding, the number of voters for every booth has been brought down to a maximum of 1,000. As a result, the number of polling booths has been augmented by 34.71 per cent to 33,530 from 24,890 in 2016. To avoid direct contact with the EVM, every elector is being given a hand glove.
In the 2016 elections, the ruling BJP-led alliance secured 35 of the 47 seats, while the Congress won nine and the remaining three seats other parties.
source;agencies
