Bengal Assembly Bypoll: As BJP alleges bogus voting, intimidation, EC seeks report

Till 5 pm, Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur witnessed the highest turnout at 67.12 per cent, followed by Ranaghat Dakshin (Nadia) at 65.37 per cent, Bagdah (North 24 Parganas) at 65.15 per cent, and Maniktala in Kolkata at 51.39 per cent.

With nearly 10 lakh voters in the four Assembly segments, the EC had deployed around 70 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to secure 1,097 polling booths.

In Maniktala, BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey demanded repoll in 89 booths, alleging booth capture. “There has been a mockery of democracy in the name of election today. TMC workers and agents captured booths. This cannot be called an election. I have submitted a list of 89 booths where such electoral malpractice was conducted. Repolling must be held in those booths,” said Chaubey, adding he might move the Calcutta High Court seeking free and fair election.

BJP’s North Kolkata district unit chief Tamoghna Ghosh  pointed fingers at the Central force, alleging that they did not swing into action. “We could not see Central forces in action today. They were made inactive by the state police. We expect a more proactive role from the Central forces,” said Ghosh.

While Choubey was greeted with ‘go back’ slogan by TMC workers when he visited a booth in Maniktala, BJP’s Ranaghat Dakshin candidate Manoj Kumar Biswas and Bagdah nominee Binay Kumar Biswas alleged that they were not allowed to visit some of the booths and his vehicle was vandalised by TMC supporters.

“I was stopped from visiting booths after I got complaints that our party workers were being beaten up by TMC goons,” said Binay Kumar Biswas.

Manoj Kumar Biswas claimed that BJP camp offices in some areas were ransacked by the TMC.

BJP candidate from Raiganj, Manas Kumar Ghosh, alleged that TMC workers tried to create disturbance in some of the booths in the constituency. In a video clip, Ghosh was purportedly seen entering into a scuffle with some TMC workers outside a polling booth.

The bypoll in Raiganj Assembly constituency was necessitated following the resignation of MLA Krishna Kalyani, who won the seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 but later defected to the TMC. Kalyani, who has been fielded by the TMC in this bypoll, said: “The BJP is crying foul. Sensing defeat, the BJP candidate is pointing fingers at us. The situation is peaceful in Raiganj.”

Last night, in Ranaghat Dakshin constituency, TMC workers allegedly vandalised the houses of local BJP workers. The TMC denied the allegations.

According to BJP booth agent Ranjit Mondal, his house was vandalised on Wednesday morning by TMC workers, and shots were fired at his home. “The TMC wants to scare me as I am a polling agent of the BJP. I have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission over the attack,” said Mondal.

The BJP also alleged that on Tuesday night, about 30 to 35 TMC workers, with their faces covered, attacked the houses of its panchayat members in the Payradanga area of the Ranaghat Dakshin constituency.  A senior police officer in Nadia district said 26 people were arrested in connection with the incident and an investigation is on.

The TMC, meanwhile, slammed the BJP for making “baseless allegations” against the TMC. “They need an excuse to save its face from imminent defeat. They cannot digest the fact that they have been rejected by the people of Bengal,” said senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.