Over 78 pc polling in Bengal amid violence

Over 78 pc polling in Bengal amid violence

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 03:52 PM IST
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Chief minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal and Leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress(TMC) Mamata Banerjee,flashes a 'victory sign' after casting her vote for state assembly elections at a polling station in Kolkata on April 30, 2016. State assembly elections in West Bengal are taking place from April 4 to May 5. / AFP PHOTO / Dibyangshu SARKAR |

Fifth phase to seal fate of prominent TMC leaders including Mamata 

Kolkata : A voter turnout of over 78.25 per cent marked the fifth and penultimate phase of assembly polls in West Bengal where 186 people were arrested in incidents of electoral malpractice and sporadic violence that left at least 15 injured.

Besides Mamata, prominent contestants in Saturday’s polls included her key ministerial colleagues Firhad Hakim, Partha Chattopadhyay, Subrata Mukherjee and Kolkata Mayor Shobhan Chatterjee.

Deputy Election Commissioner in-charge of West Bengal, Sandeep Saxena, told the media in New Delhi that “based on SMS-based information from polling officers, at 5 PM the voter turnout in 5th phase was 78.25 per cent.”

This is against 82.77 per cent voting recorded during 2011 assembly elections in the three districts of Hoogly, Kolkata South district and South 24-Parganas that went to polls on Saturday. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the same area had recorded a polling percentage of 80.22 per cent, he said.

The final figures of turnout Saturday will be known tomorrow after data compilation.

An FIR was registered against Sonali Guha, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Satgachhia assembly constituency, for allegedly intimidating voters by instructing her polling agents to shoo away the voters of opposite candidate.

In the morning, Guha, who is the Deputy Speaker, was caught on camera allegedly ordering party workers over phone to beat up and drive away CPI-M polling agents in her constituency.

She was also seen involved in a heated exchange of words with central force personnel when asked not to enter booth.

Charges against her include interfering in electoral process, disobeying orders of a public servant and criminal intimidation.

FIRs have also been lodged against two presiding officers at Arambag and Tarkeshwar after they were found aiding voters in casting ballots and even allowing unauthorised entry into their booths, state chief electoral officer Sunil Gupta said. Total complaints received during the day by EC were 2970, out of which 2846 were disposed off till 6 PM, election office sources said.

On Saturday, voter turnout of 78.98 per cent was recorded in Hooghly district, 79.69 per cent in South 24 Parganas while Kolkata South, where chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in fray in Bhowanipur constituency, had the lowest turnout of 63.10 per cent.

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