AMN /
West Bengal witnessed nearly 80 percent voter turnout today amid reports of violence in some areas. One person was killed in Murshidabad in violence. The heat too took its toll and a poll official maintaining a queue in Burdwan, apparently died of sunstrok.
Moderate to brisk voting was reported today for 62 Assembly seats in Kolkata Uttar and the districts of Murshidabad, Nadia and Burdwan.
State Additional CEO, Dibyendu Sarkar said that 79.22 percent overall turn-out was recorded till 5 PM with the highest 81.62 percent votes polled in Nadia. Murshidabad recorded 79.29 percent voter output. Burdwan recorded 78.26 percent voting while Kolkata Uttar 57.05 percent.
Alleged cases of repeated intimidation of voters, mainly, by the ruling party supporters and rigging on some booths were reported from all the three districts and parts of the seven Kolkata constituencies that went to polls.
A CPI-M supporter was killed at Domkal in Murshidabad and a large number of supporters of various political parties were injured, some of them critical, in sporadic clashes and attacks that broke out since the initial hours of polling. The trouble zone included Ketugram, Mangalkot and Khandaghosh in Burdwan and Gayeshpur and Kalyani in Nadia. Two persons were seriously injured at Ketugram when opponents opened fire on Left supporters and lobbed crude bombs. Bombs were exploded at many places to scare away voters.
Over 50 trouble-makers were arrested from various parts of Kolkata Uttar including Beleghata, Kashipur, Entally and Jorasanko. In Jorasanko, a group of TMC supporters tried to heckle BJP leader and Union Minister, Babul Supriyo when he went to cast his vote. Later, the police arrested one of the trouble-makers.
Meanwhile, after the completion of today’s voting in West Bengal, State CEO, Sunil Kr. Gupta informed that seven presiding officers were replaced during the polling, five of them at various booths at Khandghosh in Burdwan and the rest two in Zangipur, Murshidabad.
The ongoing heatwave took a toll in one officer on polling duty. One BLO, Rabindra Nath Ghosh died in Mangalkot, Burdwan while executing his duty of studying the number of people awaiting their turn in voters’ line at various booths to give online feedback to the Commission, the CEO informed. About 63 EVMs were replaced due to malfunctioning during the process with reserved machines.
State ADG, Law and Order, Anuj Sharma informed that State Police arrested 169 trouble makers including 63 in Kolkata.