Voting Continues in West Bengal Assembly Elections Amid Allegations
Ongoing Voting in West Bengal
In Kolkata, the second phase of voting for the West Bengal Assembly elections is currently underway. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Election Commission of bias. Meanwhile, the BJP has claimed that the button for their party symbol is missing from several voting machines.
Allegations suggest that tape has been placed over the option button, preventing voters from selecting the BJP. Amit Malviya, in charge of the BJP's IT cell, shared videos showing the absence of the BJP button on the EVMs. In response, the Election Commission stated that re-elections will be conducted wherever such complaints arise.
Malviya remarked, 'This is Mamata Banerjee, who has supported Jahangir Khan, a criminal contesting from TMC in Diamond Harbour.' He emphasized that the BJP's voting option has been obstructed at various polling booths, effectively disenfranchising voters.
Malviya also mentioned that the alleged 'Diamond Harbour model' has been used to secure seats for TMC leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee. He called for immediate re-elections at affected booths, providing details and evidence of the incidents.
Complaints have surfaced regarding the disappearance of the BJP button from EVMs at several booths. For instance, at booth number 144 in Harindanga High School, the BJP symbol was reportedly covered, leaving voters without an option to vote for the party. Similar issues were reported at booth 189 and others.
The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal announced that any booth where a button is taped will undergo re-voting. This statement followed BJP's allegations of irregularities in the Diamond Harbour constituency.
Reports of taped buttons will be investigated, and if verified, re-voting will be mandated at those booths.
Amit Malviya, co-in-charge of BJP in West Bengal, alleged that during the ongoing second phase of assembly elections, voters in several booths in Diamond Harbour were prevented from selecting their party candidate. He claimed that tape was used to block the BJP option at various locations.
Voting continues in Bengal, with the BJP fielding Deepak Kumar Halder against TMC's incumbent MLA Panna Lal Halder. This marks their second face-off, as Panna Lal Halder previously defeated the BJP candidate by a margin of 16,996 votes (7.6 percent). As of 11 AM, a voter turnout of 39.97 percent was recorded in the second phase of voting across 142 seats.
According to the Election Commission, East Bardhaman led with a turnout of 44.50 percent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 percent. Kolkata North and South recorded 38.39 percent and 36.78 percent, respectively.