Violence and tension have been reported in various parts of West Bengal as the voting for nine Lok Sabha Constituencies began in its seventh phase. Clashes between Indian Secular Front supporters and CPI(M), in Bhangar’s Satuliya, in Jadavpur Constituency, near Kolkata were reported. ISF fighters were injured in the clash, which was exacerbated due to bombs made by country.
Violence During Final Phase Voting In Bengal
An angry mob in Kultali district of South 24 Parganas forced their way into voting stations and threw an Electronic Voting Machine into a nearby water body. The incident happened after locals allegedly prevented some polling agents from entering booths. They then retaliated by stealing the EVM with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail.
Local mob looted Reserve EVMs and papers from Sector Officer at Benimadhavpur (FP) school at 129 Kutali AC in 19 Jaynagar(SC) PC. 1CU, 1BU, and 2VVPAT were thrown into a pond. FIR was lodged by the Sector Officer, and all necessary actions have been taken. The polling process is continuing in each of the six booths within this sector. The Chief Electoral officer of West Bengal announced in a press release that fresh EVMs and paper have been given to the sector officer.
Sandeshkhali, under Basirhat Lok Sabha, was a hotbed of tensions late on Friday night. They continued into early morning hours. Armed with bamboo sticks and a protest against the alleged threats of Trinamool Congress activists (TMC), local women demonstrated. The women accused the associates of Sheikh Shahjahan (now in prison) who was suspended from Trinamool leadership, for intimidating their family. The state police claimed that the violence began when local BJP supporters attacked civic volunteers.
In South 24 Parganas, tensions also grew in Canning as supporters of TMC erupted in clashes within the Itkhola Gram Panchayat. A media person was injured in the incident of stone-pelting.
Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell head, and Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition of West Bengal Assembly in West Bengal, shared videos from the protests. They accused Chief Minister Mamata banerjee using state police and party goons to intimidate the voters.
Early Saturday morning, in Bhangar clashes erupted between TMC activists and All India Secular Front(AISF) members, resulting in the injury of a female AISF member. The vehicle of AISF’s candidate Nur Alam Khan has also been vandalized, according to Trinamool supporters.
Security measures were strict as voting for nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal began at 7am. These include Dum Dum and the following: Barasat; Basirhat; Mathurapur; Diamond Harbour Jadavpur; Kolkata Dakshin; Kolkata Uttar. The voting will continue till 6 pm.
In this stage, prominent candidates include Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Baerjee, from Diamond Harbour; BJP’s Rekha Patra, from Basirhat; and CPI(M’s Sujan Chkraborty, from Dum Dum. There are 1,020 Central Armed Police Forces in the state. Of these, 978 companies will be on duty to conduct the polling. To address tensions, 1,960 Quick Response Teams (QRTs), totaling 1,960 teams in all of the state’s counties are on duty.