E-Paper
At 85%, phase 4 leads turnout race
If high voting percentage is an indicator of anti-incumbency, the Left, then, has lost the battle for Bengal. The turnout in the fourth phase of assembly polls in the state - expected to cross 85% - created a record of sorts, being the highest percentage polled so far among all four states going through the election process. HT reports.
If high voting percentage is an indicator of anti-incumbency, the Left, then, has lost the battle for Bengal.
The turnout in the fourth phase of assembly polls in the state - expected to cross 85% - created a record of sorts, being the highest percentage polled so far among all four states going through the election process.
It is also fitting that for Bengal, the highest turnout should occur the day Singur and Nandigram cast their ballot. Of the four districts, East Midnapore, the district where Nandigram lies, recorded the highest polling with a 89.4% turnout.
At Singur's Bajemelia Primary School, Monoranjan Malik and his wife Molina stood carrying their voter identity cards. For the bereaved parents of Tapasi Malik, this vote was a blow for justice.
The couple had been waiting for this day since December 18, 2006, when the charred body of Tapasi was recovered from the Tata Motors factory site.
"I am voting to get justice for my child, who was raped and murdered by CPM leaders, people who are roaming free right now," said Monoranjan Malik.
"Me and my wife waited for this day, so we can do our bit to bring in a change."
The candidate who stands to reap the rewards is Trinamool's Becharam Manna, a Singur local who was one of the chief lieutenants of party chief Mamata Banerjee during her anti-acquisition agitation.
The architect of Left's Singur experiment, industries minister Nirupam Sen, is the candidate from Burdwan South. Challenging him is Trinamool's Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay.
