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Phase 5 sees 78.36% turnout in West Bengal polls

Kolkata:  Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some areas during the fifth phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal on Sa...


Kolkata: 
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from some areas during the fifth phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal on Saturday, officials said. Polling was held in 45 constituencies in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and parts of Nadia, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Bardhaman. Around 319 candidates are in the fray this time, making it the biggest phase of all.

The state saw a turnout of 78.36 per cent on Saturday which saw workers of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP clash near a polling booth in Sukanta Nagar area of the Bidhannagar constituency in Kolkata.

The two parties blamed each other for the fight, allegedly sparked by the intimidation of voters. Bricks and stones were hurled, injuring eight people, officials said. Trinamool candidate Sujit Bose, the outgoing Fire Services Minister, blamed his BJP rival Sabyasachi Dutta for the clashes. The former Trinamool leader had joined the BJP in October 2019.

Abhijeet Samanta a BJP polling agent died inside a polling booth in Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas district. The Election Commission has now sought a report on the incident.

In Siliguri, a scuffle broke out between TMC and CPI (M) supporters outside a polling booth. In Santipur in Nadia district, the TMC alleged that the central force personnel were asking voters to go back, a charge rubbished by the authorities.

The TMC also alleged that a polling booth in the Bardhaman Uttar constituency had been captured by the BJP. The allegation was denied by the opposition party, while poll officials said that no such incident has happened.

In Bijpur in North 24 Parganas, TMC and BJP supporters clashed after the opposition party alleged that voters were being stopped from going to the booths.

The BJP also alleged that some of its booth agents in the Minakha constituency of the same district were "kidnapped" by the TMC.
There were 15,789 polling stations designated for this phase. The security for fifth phase saw the deployment of 1,071 companies of central forces for ensuring a peaceful election.

Voting for the sixth phase will be held on April 22.

 

 

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