Random occurrences taint Bengal’s first round of voting

The first round of the Lok Sabha elections in the three Bengali parliamentary seats was tainted by sporadic violent occurrences as TMC and BJP members battled in different portions of the violent Cooch Behar constituency.

 

According to sources close to both parties, during the first few hours of voting, the TMC and the BJP each filed 80 and 39 complaints, respectively, about incidents of violence against voters, intimidation of voters, and attacks on poll workers.

The constituency of Alipurduars and Cooch Behar made up the majority of the complaints.

“A few complaints have been received, but there haven’t been any reports of violence,” said a senior CEO office official.

By 11 a.m., Cooch Behar registered 33.68 percent of voters, while Alipurduars and Jalpaiguri recorded 35.2 and 31.94% of voters, respectively.

An official said, “At 11 am, the average polling was about 33.56%.”

With Alipurduars designated for STs and Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri for SCs, all three seats are reserved.

In all, 37 candidates are running in the three seats, including Nisith Pramanik (Cooch Behar), a Union Minister and prominent member of the BJP.

In the Sitalkuchi region of the Cooch Behar constituency, the TMC claimed that BJP members had physically assaulted poll officials, preventing voters from accessing a few booths.

The TMC was charged of intimidating voters by the saffron camp, which refuted the accusations.

One of the state’s most violent neighborhoods, Sitalkuchi, had heavy violence during the most recent assembly elections, which resulted in four individuals being shot dead by central authorities.

Television video revealed that TMC and BJP members got into a brawl in the district’s Mathabhanga neighborhood, injuring each other.

Following accusations of intimidation against voters, employees of both parties approached one another.

Following claims that central troops were helping BJP members rig votes at several booths in the region, TMC workers held a protest in another part of Mathabhanga.

Anant Barman, the TMC block president from Bethguri, was taken to the hospital after reports that BJP activists had physically assaulted him.

“In an attempt to rig the polls, the BJP and central forces have erected a reign of terror. “Our laborers are facing intimidation and assault,” said Udayan Guha, the Minister of Development for North Bengal.

The district BJP unit refuted the accusations and said that they had been victims of violence in other places.

Sensing loss, the TMC is attempting to scare voters. Numerous locations have seen attacks on BJP employees. Udayan Guha incites people to use violence wherever he goes. Even members of the media have been attacked in several instances,” Pramanik informed reporters.

Polling agents were stopped from accessing booths in the Cooch Behar South district, according to the BJP, and party workers were abducted by TMC members.

Five BJP workers in the Mathabhanga region were hospitalized after an assault by TMC members, according to a district BJP official.

The saffron camp also claimed that TMC employees went door-to-door in the same neighborhood in an effort to scare voters.

BJP supporters in the Chandmari region claimed that TMC members had taken over polling places and were rigging the election by preventing voters from entering the booths.

The TMC claimed that BJP officials and CRPF members were intimidating and intimidating voters in the nearby Alipurduras seat in order to sway them to vote for the saffron party.

The claims were refuted by the BJP.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah encouraged people to cast ballots in order to stop corruption and infiltration in a message on social media in Bengali.

“In West Bengal, the first round of the Lok Sabha elections is now being held. He wrote on X, “I implore the people to support a government that will guarantee grassroots initiatives to reduce poverty, thwart corruption and infiltration, and provide women’s protection and justice.

TMC chief Kunal Ghosh responded to his tweet by saying that the BSF and the office of the Union Home Minister should be in charge of preventing infiltration.

“The reason Bengalis are supporting @AITCofficial is that: 1) @MamataOfficial’s projects are the best at reducing poverty. The dues are not being paid by the Center.

2) The BSF and Amit Shah’s office are responsible for stopping infiltration.

3) The BJP is the greatest when it comes to corruption.

4) Unlike BJP-ruled states like Unnao, Hathras, and Prayagraj, where incidences like these have happened, TMC respects women,” he said.