West Bengal Assembly Repolling: High Turnout Amid Allegations of Misconduct

Repolling in West Bengal Assembly Constituencies

Kolkata: The repolling process at 15 booths across two Assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, wrapped up at 6 PM on Saturday, with an impressive turnout of approximately 87% noted an hour prior to the voting's conclusion, according to official reports.

By 5 PM, the voter turnout stood at 86.90%, with results from one booth still pending. Voting commenced at 7 AM and continued until 6 PM.

The polling was largely peaceful at 11 booths in the Magrahat Paschim constituency and four in Diamond Harbour. The Election Commission mandated the repolling on Friday due to allegations of electoral misconduct.

However, at booth number 179 located in Chanda Primary School within the Diamond Harbour constituency, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed that a specially abled voter and his mother faced harassment from central forces. This incident led to protests from party members and local residents.

According to TMC, the mother, who entered the booth to assist her son, and the voter were detained for an extended period by central forces over alleged violations of rules.

TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman arrived at the scene to lead the protests. An official from the Election Commission stated that the situation was managed by their officers present at the location.

Overall, polling remained peaceful across the 15 booths, as confirmed by the official.

The Commission assured that anyone in line before the polling hours ended would be allowed to cast their vote.

Magrahat Paschim recorded a voter turnout of 86.11%, while Diamond Harbour saw a turnout of 87.60%, according to the official.

Voting in these constituencies was part of the second phase of the assembly elections held on April 29.

The decision for repolling was based on reports from returning officers and observers, as well as the prevailing circumstances.

In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is competing against BJP's Goursundar Ghosh, with Congress's Abdul Majid Halder and ISF's Abdul Aziz Al Hassan also in the race.

In Diamond Harbour, TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder faces off against BJP's Dipak Kumar Halder, with Goutam Bhattacharya from Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya among the other contenders.

The BJP has raised concerns about widespread electoral misconduct at various polling stations within both assembly seats, which fall under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, represented by TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The Election Commission has assigned special observer Subrata Gupta to investigate these allegations on-site.

The poll panel is expected to make a decision regarding repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.

The West Bengal assembly elections took place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, accompanied by extensive security measures.