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Journalism of Courage
Complaints of violence, intimidation and assault poured in as the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections kicked off in West Bengal on Friday with three constituencies, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, going to polls.
While Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters were accused of stone pelting in Chandamari, leading to a BJP booth president suffering an injury, BJP workers were accused of attacking TMC workers in the Sitalkuchi and Chotosalbari Gram Panchayat areas. During the first hour of voting, bombs were allegedly recovered from the residence of a BJP booth president in Dinhata -II and a TMC polling camp in Sitai was attacked, sources added.
Till 1 pm, Coochbehar recorded 50.69 per cent voting, Alipurduar 51.58 per cent, and Jalpaiguri 50.65 per cent.
In his ‘peace room’ in Raj Bhavan, Governor C V Ananda Bose said that complaints of intimidation and violence have been streaming in since the morning. “All complaints are being forwarded to the Election Commission (EC) for appropriate action,” he told the media.
Till 9 am, the TMC had filed 37 complaints against the BJP to the EC.
On Thursday night, BJP leader Love Sarkar suffered a head injury after he was allegedly assaulted by TMC supporters in Chandamari in the Cooch Behar South Assembly constituency. Sarkar is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday morning with polling underway at 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories.
High security
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed 112 companies of central armed forces in Cooch Behar (SC) constituency, the highest among all three seats. During the 2021 Assembly elections, four people had died in alleged firing by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar district, which shares a border with Bangladesh. The EC has sanctioned 63 companies in Alipurduar (ST) and 75 in Jalpaiguri (SC). Apart from central forces, the poll panel has also deployed 4,500 state police personnel in Cooch Behar, 2,454 personnel in Alipurduar and 3,077 personnel in Jalpaiguri.
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Phase 1
| Constituencies | Cooch Behar (SC), Alipurduar (ST), Jalpaiguri (SC) |
| Polling stations | 5,814 |
| Critical polling stations | 834 |
| Voters | 56,26,108 |
Cooch Behar
Alipurduar
Jalpaiguri
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