TMC leader accuses BJP of stone-pelting in Bidhannagar, claims 2 workers injured
Earlier in the day, Bose visited the polling booth in East Calcutta Girls College in the Bidhannagar assembly constituency. He is contesting from Bidhannagar and is in a direct fight with BJP's Sabyasachi Dutta in the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly Election 2021.
Clashes were reported between leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday during the fifth round of polling for the West Bengal assembly election. In Bidhannagar, among the 45 constituencies holding voting, a stone-pelting incident was reported at polling booth numbers 265 and 272 in the Shantinagar area, injuring at least two TMC party workers. "We have informed the election observer and police. The situation is normal now," news agency ANI quoted TMC’s Sujit Bose as saying.
Earlier in the day, Bose visited the polling booth in East Calcutta Girls College in the Bidhannagar assembly constituency. He is contesting from Bidhannagar and is in a direct fight with BJP's Sabyasachi Dutta in the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly Election 2021.
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Meanwhile, Election Commission officials said the overall situation was peaceful during the early hours of voting. "As of now, polling is peaceful. There were a few incidents and those have been addressed by the central forces personnel," PTI quoted a poll official as saying. "We have an adequate number of forces deployed in all the six districts where polling is underway. Quick Response Team (QRT) will reach a spot within minutes after receiving information of any untoward incident. At the moment, there is no report of any big problem anywhere," the official also said.
Till 11:37am, 36.02% of voters have cast their votes to elect representatives in their respective constituencies. Polling is being held amid strict Covid-19 protocol as people formed long lines to cast their votes. The polling started at 7am and will continue till 6.30pm.
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According to data, 319 candidates are in the fray out of which 39 are women. The districts that are holding the polling in this phase include Darjeeling, Kurseong, Matigara-Naxalbari, Siliguri, Phansidewa, Dhupguri, Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri, Rajganj, Dabgram-Phulbari, Mal, Nagrakata and Kalimpong.
Polling for the West Bengal Assembly Elections is being held in eight phases and the votes will be counted on May 2.