This Article is From Apr 01, 2021

Stones Thrown At BJP Candidate, Trinamool Alleges Disruptions As Bengal Votes: 10 Points

West Bengal, Assam Assembly Polls: In Bengal, polling is taking place amid strict COVID-19 guidelines in nine seats of Paschim Medinipur, eight in Bankura, four in South 24 Parganas and nine seats in Purba Medinipur.

Thirty constituencies in Bengal and 39 in Assam vote today.

Highlights

  • Thirty constituencies in Bengal and 39 in Assam are voting today
  • Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP in December
  • The contest in Nandigram is now a prestige fight
Kolkata: Nandigram - the epicentre of the battle for Bengal - is voting today, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee toe-to-toe with her protege-turned-arch rival Suvendu Adhikari. Thirty constituencies in Bengal and 39 in Assam are voting.

Here are the top 10 points in this big story:

  1. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dialled Governor Jagdeep Dhankar from Nandigram today amid a face-off with BJP workers at a polling booth. "Anything might happen at any moment… There is total breakdown of law and order with the people outside being in the area," she told the Governor.

  2. Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien has written to the Election Commission alleging booth capture by BJP workers in Nandigram. "Huge mob of BJP workers have entered booth no.s 6, 7, 49, 27, 162, 21, 26, 13, 262, 256, 163, 20. BJP workers attempting to take control of EVM & rigging the booth," he wrote.

  3. "More than 150 EVM machines malfunctioning since Phase II voting started this morning Wish @ECISVEEP had put half as much effort into ensuring no EVM  glitches as it did into transferring police officials," Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra tweeted. The Election Commission said that problems relating to voting machines had been largely resolved.

  4. Keshpur was placed under massive security after stones were thrown at BJP candidate Prithish Ranjan Konar's car. The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress workers and three people have been arrested.

  5. Nandigram has 355 polling booths. The Election Commission has declared all of them as sensitive and deployed 22 companies of security forces. Aerial survey is being conducted with drones and helicopters. Around 651 companies of central forces have been deployed at the other 10,619 booths where elections are on.

  6. Nandigram is in East Medinipur district, the backyard of Suvendu Adhikari, who belongs to the most prominent political family in the area. After joining the BJP in December, Mr Adhikari donned the role of an aggressive right-winger, running a deeply polarising campaign. Around 30 per cent of the people in Nandigram area are Muslims.

  7. Upset over what she clearly saw as betrayal, Mamata Banerjee threw her hat into the ring at Nandigram, leaving her existing seat in Kolkata's Bhowanipur. The contest here is now a prestige fight - one that neither can afford to lose.

  8. In Assam, four ministers and the deputy speaker are among the candidates contesting on 39 of the state's 126 seats. In 2016, the BJP won 22 of the seats, the Asom Gana Parishad won two. The Bodoland People's Front, a former BJP ally, had won four seats.

  9. The Bengali-dominated Barak Valley is drawing the most attention in this phase. Up to 15 seats will witness key contests. AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal, who joined hands with the Congress, is expected to be a key player in this area, with the population equally divided between Hindus and Muslims.

  10. Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 80.43 per cent till 5 pm. Assam saw a 73.03 per cent turnout till 5 pm. The counting of votes is on May 2.



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