Heavy turnout in Phase 1 of Assam, Bengal polls

Voting passes off largely peacefully, with a few minor clashes and EVMs malfunctioning in some centres

People in West Bengal and Assam voted in the first phase of state assembly elections on Saturday, turning out in impressive numbers – 79.79% and 76.89%, respectively – in polls that will determine if the Trinamool Congress can stand up to the challenge by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also trying to retain power in the Assam.

Voting was held in 30 seats – several of them part of the once Maoist-hit Jangalmahal region – amid tight security and strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. (PTI/ File photo)

While the BJP has emerged as the primary challenger in West Bengal, where it won 18 of the 42 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Assam, a coalition of the Congress and Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is fighting against the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government.

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from various places in West Bengal but the overall situation was largely peaceful, with 79.79% turnout recorded till 5pm, according to the Election Commission.

Voting was held in 30 seats – several of them part of the once Maoist-hit Jangalmahal region – amid tight security and strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines, the official added.

In Assam, the fates of many heavyweights including chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal were sealed in electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the first phase of polling. Till 9pm, 76.89% polling was recorded. The figure was expected to increase slightly after the final compilation of votes.

The outcome in the elections in the eastern states will indicate if the BJP’s hegemony remains intact despite governance challenges in recent months, including due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The turnout (in Bengal) is expected to cross 80%,” a senior poll panel official said, asking not to be named.

At Salboni in Jhargram, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate was heckled allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters and his car was attacked. While four people were arrested, the Election Commission has asked for a report on the incident.

At Kanthi Dakshin, the car of Soumendu Adhikari, who is BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s brother, was also damaged. At Garbetta in West Midnapore, at least 12 BJP supporters were injured in an alleged clash with TMC supporters.

“The poll panel has asked for detailed reports on violent incidents. At least 10 persons were arrested,” the poll panel official said.

Another official said that about 100 EVMs malfunctioned during the day. “Non-functioning rate during the poll is lesser than experienced in last few polls,” an EC statement said without elaborating.

In the last assembly polls held in 2016, the TMC won 27 out of the 30 seats that went to the polls on Saturday.

“People have voted for us. The BJP in some cases tried to incite people, influence voters and create problems. There were some reports of EVM malfunction. We alerted the ECI,” said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.

The BJP’s state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said: “The TMC is still the ruling party but the allegations they have raised today against the BJP are such that it appears that the BJP is in power. They have damaged our cars. It is a sign of frustration. The TMC is showing signs of defeat.”

The battle for the state also spilled over to social media. In a recording of a conversation circulated online by the BJP, it alleged that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had called a BJP district leader to seek help get votes for the state’s ruling party in Nandigram, the constituency she is contesting from. The Trinamool Congress, too, released a recording of a purported conversation between BJP’s national vice president Mukul Roy and another party leader Sisir Bajoria, and alleged that the BJP was trying to influence the Election Commission.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is banking on her decision to create welfare boards for tribal communities such as the Santhals, Lodhas and Kurmis, and development projects, including new roads, hospitals and schools. But the BJP, which did well in this region in the 2019 polls by winning five Lok Sabha seats, is banking on acute deprivation as well as tribal discontent against the TMC.

In Assam, voting was largely peaceful in all 47 seats in 11 districts in the first phase. In Sonari district, a polling officer died due to cardiac arrest. There were reports of a few EVMs malfunctioning, but they were replaced soon, an official said.

“All our candidates will win. The voters are happy with the performance of the government of BJP and its allies in the past five years. Our aim is to form a BJP government again in Assam,” Sonowal said after voting at a polling booth in his home constituency in Dibrugarh district.

“The Congress and other parties are seen only in the media, but the BJP and its allies are working on the ground. People of Assam know that CAA and NRC won’t affect them,” Sonowal was quoted as saying by ANI.

Assam witnessed violent protests in December 2019 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which seeks to provide citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The updated National Register of Citizens, which seeks to identify illegal immigrants, was released in August 2019 and left out 1.9 million applicants. The list is yet to be notified and the process of re-verification of those left out is yet to begin. The BJP has dubbed the list as faulty and has promised a corrected NRC, if voted to power again.

Considered a traditional Congress bastion in the past, in recent years, the BJP has been able to make inroads in the tea-tribe community with the promise of scheduled tribe (ST) status, welfare schemes for women, students, young people and development projects.

Almost all seats in the first phase fall in the tea-rich Upper Assam belt and their outcomes are expected to be crucial for both the BJP-led ruling alliance and the opposition Congress’s grand alliance of seven parties.

“The high voter turnout shows the mood of the voters that want change. We are confident of getting majority and forming a Congress-led government in the state,” state Congress chief Ripun Bora said.

While the BJP is contesting in 39 of the 47 seats in the first phase, its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is contesting in 10 seats (there was a “friendly contest” between the allies in two seats). On the other, the Congress was contesting in 43 seats and the newly formed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) in 41 seats.

Voting in West Bengal takes place in eight phases, ending on April 29, and the votes will be counted on May 2. Assam’s second phase is on April 1 and the third and final phase of voting is on April 6.