Bhabanipur bypoll: Everything but politics
Sitting on a bench outside Habu Da’s tea stall, opposite the heritage ‘Mitra Institution’ in Bhabanipur, Babla Ghosh, 36, speaks dismissively, “What election? People already know the outcome.”
Bhabanipur — the constituency in south Kolkata thrust into the limelight as the seat from where Mamata Banerjee will seek to enter the Assembly through a by-election on September 30, after her loss from Nandigram in the state elections earlier this year — has had an extended electoral season, and the fatigue is showing. The conversation in the town’s popular addas, from Habu Da’s tea stall to the famous Balwant Singh’s Eating House, mostly focuses on the mundane — price rise, the unusually heavy rainfall this year, and Mamata Banerjee’s intervention to find a sponsor for the East Bengal football club.
Poll percentage at 5 pm:
Samserganj: 78.60%
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
Jangipur: 76.12%
Bhabanipur: 53.32%
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is contesting the bypoll from Bhabanipur Assembly constituency to retain her chair, Thursday cast her vote at Mitra Institution School around 3 pm.
Samserganj: 72.45%
Jangipur: 68.17%
Bhabanipur: 48.08%
Priyanka Tibrewal, the BJP candidate for Bhabanipur by-poll, alleged that TMC is paying some people to cast a vote "A man confessed to me that TMC paid him Rs 500 to cast vote. He was from Bansdroni. I have informed the authorities," she said.
45.32% voter turnout recorded till 1pm in Odisha's Pipili Assembly bypoll. (PTI)
BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal has filed a complaint stating that fake voters were sent to four schools in Bhabanipur.
Poll percentage at 1 pm:
Samserganj: 57.15%
Jangipur: 53.78%
Bhabanipur: 35.97%
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will cast her vote at a booth in the Mitra Institution School in Bhabanipur at 3.15pm.
41 complaints regarding various issues have been lodged with the Election Commission today from three constituencies. Out of 41 complaints, 23 are from Bhabanipur.
Voter turnout continued to be on the lower side in Bhabanipur with only 21.73 per cent people coming out to exercise their franchise till 11 am on Thursday. The figure stood at 7.57 per cent at 9 am. While the turnout in Samserganj constituency was 40.23 per cent, that in Jangipur was 36.11 per cent. Read More
Voting is underway for the bypolls in four assembly segments across India — three in West Bengal: Bhabanipur, Samserganj, and Jangipur; and one in Odisha – Pipli. 24.76% polling has been recorded till 11 am in Odisha's Pipili.
Biju Janata Dal candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy casts his vote for by-poll in Pipili. "There has been no MLA in our constituency (Pipili) since my father's death. Everyone wants their candidate," he said.
Till 9 am, 7.8 per cent of the voters in Odisha's Pipili have cast their votes in the bypolls. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, Sushil Kumar Lohani, said that to ensure the safety of voters against Covid-19, each of them is being provided with hand gloves, masks, and sanitisers.
The Bhabanipur constituency recorded a low voter turnout of just 7.57 per cent during the first two hours of polling on Thursday. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is contesting the Assembly bypoll from Bhabanipur to retain her Chief Minister’s seat. She is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPM’s Sreejib Biswas. Read More
Here are the polling percentages in Bengal at 9 am:
Assembly Constituency 56 — Samserganj: 16.32 per cent
Assembly Constituency 58 — Jangipur: 17.51 per cent
Assembly Constituency 159 — Bhabanipur: 7.57 per cent
Voting in currently underway at Jangipur constituency in Murshidabad amid tight security and strict Covid-19 norms.
Voting was delayed in a booth of Pipili due to EVM malfunction while glitches in the EVM machine were reported in two more booths.
A 90-year-old woman cast her vote at a polling booth in Bhabanipur on Thursday in the election that decides Mamata Bannerjee’s fate as CM.
Voting for bypoll is underway in Pipili, Puri. "We have made appropriate arrangements and have deployed extra security at sensitive polling booths. There are 32 mobile parties deployed for this election," says Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh. (ANI)
Long queues were seen since early morning outside several booths across the constituencies. Voting will continue till 6 pm. The polling centres have been stocked up with masks and sanitisers as part of the Covid-19 guidelines, officials said.
To ensure watertight security and peaceful polling in Bhabanipur on Thursday, the Election Commission has brought in 20 more companies of Central Armed Police Personnel. With this, 35 companies of central forces have been deployed across the constituency.
Priyanka Tibrewal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Bhabanipur bypolls, said that the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is “in fear” right now, referring to the fact that Banerjee's fate as chief minister hangs in balance, conditional upon the result of the by-election. “We're hoping for fair elections,” Tibrewal said “I will visit polling booths in the area today. The state government is in fear right now.”
Voting has begun for the bypolls in the keenly-watched assembly segment of Bhabanipur and two other constituencies in West Bengal; as well as in Odisha's Pipli. The voting is slated to continue till 6:30pm, according to the Election Commission.