Intimidated Ultadanga complex residents vote freely in Maniktala
Times of India | 11 July 2024
Kolkata: Anxiety and fear were a matter of past at Sun City housing complex at Ultadanga. The residents of the high-rise on Wednesday cast their vote peacefully for the Maniktala assembly byelection, though barely a month ago, 100-odd auto rickshaws had stormed the premises, celebrating Trinamool’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay’s win in the Lok Sabha polls and “protesting” against the residents, presuming they had voted against the party.
After Bandyopadhyay’s LS win, the by-election had to be held for Maniktala, where former Trinamool minister Sadhan Pandey’s widow, Supti Pandey, contested against BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey and CPM’s Rajib Majumdar.
The auto rally at the housing complex a month ago had caught the attention of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who had directed her party functionary, Kunal Ghosh, and councillor Shanti Ranjan Kundu to apologise to the residents. Ghosh and Kundu met the residents at the complex and allayed their anxieties. “That was a bad day, when things suddenly went out of control. But we have not faced any trouble since then. The CM had asked her party colleagues to assure us of no harm,” said Sujit Saha, secretary of the society. Diptendu Roy, who has been living in the complex for 22 years, said Wednesday being a weekday, residents of their building cast their votes in the morning before leaving for work. “It was something which had never happened before. It was a one-off incident,” he said.
Prem Prakash Pandey, another resident, said Ghosh and Kundu could allay their fears of being harassed further. “No one was scared on Wednesday to step out and vote. Our polling booth is inside the Post-&-Telegraph quarters near Ultadanga station. The voting went off peacefully here,” said Pandey.
Accusations flew thick and fast between BJP and Trinamool during the day. Candidate Pandey alleged some voters at the Maniktala bus depot booth were threatened with dire consequences if they attempted to vote. Pandey, who visited the spot, said she would report the matter to the Election Commission. She also alleged central forces were “overly active” in some locations, “taking over the duties of the presiding officer”. On the other hand, BJP staged a protest outside the Phoolbagan police station, accusing Trinamool of vote manipulation. BJP organizational district president for Kolkata North Tamoghna Ghosh said, “Police are shamelessly helping Trinamool rig the votes. Trinamool goons are roaming around and police are not taking action.”
The poll day also saw an altercation breaking out between Chaubey and Trinamool workers in Ward 31, with TMC activists shouting “go back” at the BJP candidate. “Chaubey had been absent for three years after losing in 2021. Won’t people be angry?” said Kunal Ghosh.