All wrapped up at last

Kolkata North
Polling was more or less peaceful in this constituency that is witnessing a neck-to-neck battle between CPM posterboy Md Salim and Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool. At 3.30 pm,clashes started between Trinamool and CPM supporters and crude bombs were hurled in the area. At 4.30 pm,bombs were again hurled outside Deshbandhu primary school,in which Tumpa Mahato,a four-year-old girl,was injured. There was tension and security personnel had to be called in to bring the situation under control. Some booths in the constituency also reported cases where polling was very slow and voters became agitated. Till 5 pm 66 per cent votes had been polled.

Kolkata South
This is the constituency that has been in focus ever since the elections were announced. In Mamata Banerjee’s own constituency polling was more or less peaceful. In many areas there were complaints of slow polling. Till 5 pm,63 per cent votes had been cast. Banerjee,however,alleged there was massive rigging in many of the booths in the constituency and CPM supporters tried to intimidate the voters outside the booths.

Jadavpur
The Assembly segment under Bhangor remained tense throughout the day with reports of clashes between Trinamool and CPM supporters since morning. In Rajpur,Bhangor Assembly segment,four persons were injured after clashes between TMC and CPM supporters. All the four were admitted to the Bhangor government hospital and two of them are reportedly in a critical condition.

The RAF was called in to control the situation. At 9.15 am,CPM supporters alleged that the party camp in Chokmorcha was ransacked by TMC supporters. Reports of clashes also came in from Gangulybagan,Duttapukur,Chanpukur and Narayanpur. TMC leader Mukul Ray was also attacked in Gangulybagan area of the constituency.

Diamond Harbour
Tension gripped the Metiabruz area when voters in Pachulashpur primary school premises raised a hue and cry alleging that there were bogus voters who were casting votes in more than one booth. RAF had to be called here also.

After this,locals alleged,RAF and paramilitary forces conducted searches in every household of the area.

Locals then blocked the road and forced the RAF to be withdrawn from the area. Five people have been arrested in this connection.

b>Joynagar
The constituency remained generally tense throughout the day where Nimai Barman of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) is pitted against Trinamool’s Tarun Mondol.

One person was killed in poll violence in the constituency. Jaynal Mollah,a Canning panchayat samiti member,was hacked to death allegedly by Trinamool supporters at Narayanpur at 1 pm. “He was killed while returning home on his motorbike after casting his vote,” said Left Front chairman Biman Bose. His body was taken to the Canning hospital.

Mollah was a resident of Paschim Narayanpur and was a RSP supporter. In another incident,three people were injured in clashes between the Trinamool and the RSP. Locals had boycotted voting in three booths citing local issues.

Dum Dum
Dum Dum is the only constituency in the phase that witnessed a tripartite battle between sitting MP Amitava Nandi of the CPM,Tapan Sikdar of the BJP and Sougata Roy of the Trinamool Congress. Reports of clashes came in from a few areas in Sodepur. The CPM alleged that three of their camp offices were attacked by Trinamool supporters. Of 110 booths in the constituency,there was tension in 10. Unofficial sources claimed that polling percentage in the area was about 80 per cent.

Bashirhat
Polling was peaceful in this constituency where Ajay Chakraborty of the CPM fights Nurul Islam of the Trinamool. At a booth in Champapukur there were allegations that the presiding officer was helping the ruling party. He was immediately replaced. Unofficial sources said that 74 per cent votes had been polled.

Barasat
One person died in the run up to the final phase of elections in the Barasat constituency where Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of the TMC is contesting against Sudhin Chattopadhyay of the Forward Bloc. Saifulla Mollah,18,was attacked along with his brothers in the morning allegedly by CPM supporters. Locals said Mollah was a Trinamool supporter. In another incident,Chattopadhyay’s vehicle was attacked in Ashoknagar Assembly segment,in which he was allegedly injured.

Mathurapur
Polling in 101 booths in Mathurapur parliamentary constituency will be held on Thursday. Polling could not begin in these booths of Mandirbazar Assembly segment under South 24 Parganas as the EVM machines did not function because water had seeped into them. The locals and the leaders blamed the district administration for the poor arrangements during the polls.