Bengal by-poll: BJP leader allegedly kicked, thrown into ditch by TMC workers
By-election in the three Assembly constituencies of Karimpur, Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar in West Bengal began on Monday morning amid a few minor incidents. Some electronic voting machines (EVM) were replaced after they malfunctioned.
BJP candidate for Karimpur Assembly by-poll and its state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar was kicked, shoved around and thrown into a roadside ditch allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in West Bengal’s Bipulkhola in the Karimpur constituency. The incident happened while voting was underway in the constituency on Monday.
By-election in the three Assembly constituencies of Karimpur, Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar in West Bengal began on Monday morning amid a few minor incidents. Some electronic voting machines (EVM) were replaced after they malfunctioned.
Earlier in the day, the police chased away some TMC workers after they staged a demonstration and shouted ‘go back’ slogans for Majumdar at Thanarpara in Karimpur in West Bengal’s Nadia district.
Majumdar alleged that TMC workers did not allow the BJP to place it’s polling agent in a booth at Thanarpara. He allegedly also had an altercation with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel when they stopped him from entering a polling station since he was not a local voter.
The TMC’s Karimpur candidate, however, rubbished Majumdar’s allegations and called him a “good actor”.
“Security arrangements are very satisfactory. Majumdar is a good actor. He is trying to create sensation,” said TMC candidate Bimalendu Singha Roy.
In another poll-related incident, BJP candidate from Kaliaganj Kamal Chandra Sarkar was accused of showing his wife where to cast her vote. The TMC lodged a complaint with the state Election Commission following which the presiding officer was replaced.
At Kharagpur Sadar, a glass wall inside a polling booth was covered after the BJP alleged that it was showing reflections of the voting area where the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was placed.
There are more than seven lakh voters in the three seats of Karimpur, Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar. Polls are being held in Karimpur and Kharagpur because the legislators - TMC’s Mahua Moitra and BJP’s Dilip Ghosh - were elected to the Lok Sabha a few months ago. By-polls are being held in Kaliagunj as Congress legislator Pramanath Roy who was holding the seat passed away.
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