Elections to four municipal corporations were held in West Bengal on Saturday amid allegations of electoral disturbances and violence by opposition parties.
Opposition parties allege that Trinamool Congress supporters opened fire in Jamuria under Asansol Municipal Corporation. A BJP candidate in Asansol Municipal Corporation’s ward number 17 suffered a head injury and alleged that he was attacked for trying to prevent malpractice during polling.
Elections to four municipal corporations in Asansol, Bidhannagar, Siliguri and Chandranagar were held on Saturday. Several instances of electoral irregularities were witnessed in the Vidhannagar Municipal Corporation, located on the north-eastern edge of Kolkata. The dummy or false voters were seen hiding inside the toilets of the polling premises and were chased by the employees of the television channel in Bidhannagar. It was alleged by BJP candidates that their homes were attacked by supporters of the ruling party. In Bidhanagar, candidates contesting civic polls were seen coming face to face and once a journalist got hurt outside a polling booth. In some instances, people without valid documents were seen walking outside the polling booth.
By evening, both BJP and Left parties demanded re-polling in Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. The elections to the Siliguri Municipal Corporation in Darjeeling district and Chandranagar Municipal Corporation in Hooghly district were relatively peaceful. The Trinamool Congress leadership said voting was peaceful while the BJP and Left leadership maintained that the elections were far from free and fair.
72 percent voter turnout till 5 pm
West Bengal State Election Commission officials said 72% of voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm. The commission said the polling has been peaceful and has taken note of a few incidents. Several people were arrested from Asansol and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.
Saturday’s developments raised questions on the West Bengal State Election Commission’s preparedness to hold civic polls in the state. The elections were held with the deployment of the state police, despite the opposition parties deploying central forces and approaching the courts. The Calcutta High Court had placed its trust in the West Bengal State Election Commission for the deployment of forces. Elections to 108 municipal bodies in 20 districts of the state are to be held on February 27. The Trinamool Congress has already won three municipalities without a contest as the opposition failed to field candidates.
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