One person died in political clashes and several others were injured as violence lashed West Bengal, where five seats in the northern part of the state went to the polls on Tuesday and turnout stood at 79.77%.
Tiyarul Kalam, 55, succumbed to his injuries after clashes between Trinamool Congress and Congress workers outside polling booth number 188 of Bhagwangola assembly segment in the Murshidabad parliamentary constituency. Voters at the booth said TMC and Congress workers attacked each other with bamboo sticks and sickles. A TMC panchayat member and some Congress workers were injured in the incident.
Before polling opened on Tuesday, Tojammel Ansari, the spouse of a TMC councillor of Domkal municipality in Murshidabad was hit with sticks on the head by an unidentified group of people. He was rushed to a hospital and remains in a critical condition. A few minutes later, the Congress agent in booth number 143 in Jalangi in Murshidabad alleged that he was beaten up, his clothes were torn and he was turned out allegedly by TMC workers. Local reports also said a reserve polling officer was found dead in Dakshin Dinajpur.
Crude bombs were hurled by unidentified miscreants outside polling stations at Tiktikipara in Domkal, Murshidadbad, and Kaliachawk in Malda South. In Dakshin Dinajpur district, a BJP leader was injured when he was attacked with a sharp weapon while the party’s Balurghat candidate Sukanta Majumdar was allegedly threatened.
{{/usCountry}}Crude bombs were hurled by unidentified miscreants outside polling stations at Tiktikipara in Domkal, Murshidadbad, and Kaliachawk in Malda South. In Dakshin Dinajpur district, a BJP leader was injured when he was attacked with a sharp weapon while the party’s Balurghat candidate Sukanta Majumdar was allegedly threatened.
{{/usCountry}}The five seats are witnessing a four-cornered fight between the TMC, the Congress, the Left and the BJP. The ruling TMC’s pitch is to strengthen the hands of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The BJP has appealed for rejecting the politics of appeasement allegedly practised by TMC, Congress and Left.