Our Correspondent
Campaigning for the sixth and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal ended today with reports of clashes at several places. 25 Assembly seats including 16 in Purba Medinipur and 9 in Coochbehar districts will go to polls on Thursday. 67 candidates are in the fray for nine seats in Coochbehar, 12 of them independents. In Purba Medinipur, a total of 103 candidates are vying for 16 seats. 12 of these are independents. Until now, the five rounds of the ongoing elections for the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly have been completed in six polling days.
Top leaders of various parties campaigned today in a last ditch effort to woo the voters.
Addressing party rallies at Mathabhnaga, Dinhata and Mekhliganj, TMC chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today again targeted the BJP, CPI-M and Congress in one go accusing them of conspiring against her party. Saying that her party will not allow division of Bengal, Ms. Banerjee said that politics of division cannot be allowed just for the sake of votes.
CPI-M today complained to the Election Commission that a TMC MP from Purba Medinipur has held a secret meeting with seven Officers-in-Charge of local Police stations ahead of the Thursday’s polling to manage the Central forces. The Left party’s state secretary, Surjya Kanta Mishra told media-persons in Kolkata that the TMC MP handed over funds to the Police officers in the May 1 meeting held late at night at Panshkura in Medinipur.
BJP leader Shah Nawaz Hussain led a party procession at Pundibari Market in Coochbehar North constituency and addressed party meetings. BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh has meanwhile said that the post election violence in the state signifies that ruling TMC has lost the polls. Congress and Left leaders also brought out processions and organised meetings in Purba Medinipur.
The Election Commission has put in place strict security measures for the final phase of voting. In all, 361 companies of Central security forces have been deployed in both the districts. In Purba Medinipur 7 thousand 500 State Police personnel and in Coochbehar 4 thousand 500 Policemen are being deployed to assist the Central forces in peaceful polling.
The money was given for serving lavish refreshments to the Central force Jawans deputed for polling duty, he alleged. The CPI-M district secretary filed a formal complaint in this regard with the Commission. Reacting to the CPI-M allegations, the TMC MP from the district mocked the Left party saying that their leaders are imagining things. TMC leader, Partha Chatterjee said Mr. Mishra’s charge is baseless and by levelling such accusations he will lose relevance.
Meanwhile, reports of post-poll violence from South 24-Paragans continued today. Three Left supporter lady voters were brutally beaten and the ear of one of them was chopped off allegedly by TMC activists in Canning Purba last night. A poultry-farm run by a CPI-M youth leader was burnt down at Bauipur.
16 TMC activists today surrendered in a city court and were subsequently released on bail bonds. They are accused in a Police case for attacking several houses of Left supporters and beating them including a CPI-M polling agent on Monday night at Baghajatin in Kolkata.