WB: Trinamool candidate casts another man's vote

A Trinamool Congress candidate today courted controversy after he was caught on camera voting on behalf of an allegedly "drunk" voter in the West Bengal panchayat polls.

A Trinamool Congress candidate on Thursday courted controversy after he was caught on camera voting on behalf of an allegedly "drunk" voter in the West Bengal panchayat polls.

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Jawaharlal Bagdi was seen casting the vote of a man whose hands were trembling. The incident happened in Jhalda in Purulia district, almost 350 km from teh state capital.

"The man asked me to cast his vote as he was drunk and his hands were trembling. I did that as he is a Trinamool supporter and would have voted in our favour," Bagdi said later.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Congress took strong exception to the incident.

"First, the Trinamool did not allow opposition candidates to file nominations or to campaign. Now they are even casting others' votes. This government is determined to give elections a new definition," said CPI-M leader Mohammad Salim.

State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said his party will approach the Election Commission with a complaint.