The convoy of former BJP president and Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency candidate Dilip Ghosh was attacked by TMC supporters at Monteshwar in Purba Bardhaman district.
Ghosh was visiting the district after learning about BJP agents been driven out of the polling booths. As his convoy reached the area, TMC workers and supporters surrounded him and a verbal altercation ensued between them. Ghosh was pushed and the central force, on his security duty, baton-charged the mob to clear the area.
In retaliation, TMC supporters pelted stones and bricks at his convoy and staged a protest against the attack.
Ghosh lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, and alleged that the entire incident took place in front of the police. “TMC goons attacked our polling agents here. Two of them sustained head injuries. I came here to restore them in booths. But I was surrounded by the TMC workers who heckled me. I have raised the issue with the Election Commission,” said Ghosh.
Meanwhile, both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have lodged complaints alleging malfunctioning of electronic voting machines, agents being stopped from entering polling booths and voters being either threatened or stopped from going to cast their votes in different constituencies.
Till 9 am, the TMC had lodged around 139 complaints and the BJP over 35.
“We have received 350 complaints, of which 99 were disposed of,” said the official.
In Beldanga under the Baharampur constituency, central force personnel chased away miscreants who were allegedly stopping the Congress’s election agents from reaching polling booths.
Meanwhile, long queues of people were seen outside polling booths in the Purba Bardhaman constituency. At a polling station in Benepukur, a large number of women voters turned up to exercise their franchise.
“I can’t walk without support since I am paralysed from one side but even if I were bedridden, I would have cast my vote. It is my right,” Sikha Mistry, a voter.
A woman in her late 30’s, Sipra Das cast her vote in a booth inside Tele Nuri Prathamik Vidyalaya. “I feel important after exercising my voting rights,” she said.
Sima Datta of Benepukur village has a young son with no proper job. “I want someone who can assure and create job opportunities for not only my son but others who are educated but have no job. My son has passed Class 12 but does not know what to do next,” she said.
A total of 1,45,30,017 voters—73,84,356 men, 71,45,379 women and 282 transgender people—are eligible to exercise their franchise in 15,507 polling stations. The poll panel has identified 3,647 of the polling stations as critical.