Assembly Election 2021 Phase 1: West Bengal and Assam went to polls for the first phase of Assembly elections on Saturday after days of high-octane campaigns by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP. Amid tight security and strict coronavirus protocols, polling started in a total of 77 assembly constituencies (47 in Assam and 30 in Bengal) at 7 AM and continued till 6 PM today. A total of 30 Vidhan Sabha seats of five districts — Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Paschim Midnapore Part-I, and Purba Midnapore Part-I of West Bengal and Assam’s 47 Assembly constituencies continued till 6 PM.

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in some areas of West Bengal. A group of voters also staged a protest outside a polling booth over EVM malfunctioning. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) stated that the “non-functioning rate during the poll is lesser than experienced in last few polls”.

Till 6 PM, when the voting concluded, 79.79 per cent polling was recorded in West Bengal, and 72.14 per cent voter turnout in Assam.

Here’s a roundup from Day 1 of Assembly Elections 2021:

  1. During the polls, 10288 each of Ballot Units (BUs), Control Units (CUs) and VVPATs were used in West Bengal and 11,537 each of BUs, CUs and 37 VVPATs were used in Assam. One control unit, on VVPAT and at least one ballot unit make an EVM.
  2. In West Bengal, nearly 74 lakh voters across 10,288 polling stations had registered to exercise their franchise in this phase.
  3. Voting was held in 47 assembly constituencies of Assam with a total of 81 lakh electorate registered across 11,537 polling stations.
  4. The number of polling stations had increased as the number of voters per polling station was reduced from 1,500 to 1000 keeping social distancing norms in mind due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  5. The Commission, state chief electoral officers, district election officers and the observers could watch live streaming and keep a close watch on these polling booths in Assam and West Bengal.
  6. In Bengal’s East Midnapore, two security personnel were reportedly injured in a firing incident that took place early Saturday at the Satsatmal, Bhagwanpur Assembly constituency ahead of voting. Tension prevailed in the Tulsidi village where the incident took place.
  7. There were reports of EVM malfunctioning at 20 booths in Bankura district, eight in Jhargram and 39 in Purulia after EVMs in various booths stopped working due to a technical glitch. People started protesting as they reportedly had to wait for more than two hours to cast their ballot.
  8. Suvendu Adhikari’s brother and BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari accused Trinamool Block President Ram Govind Das and his wife for poll rigging at three polling booths, saying “my arrival here created a problem for them to continue with their mischief, so they attacked my car and thrashed my driver”.
  9. Meanwhile, voting went smoothly in Assam with negligible discrepancies. Covid-19 protocols for the voters, including social distancing and thermal screening, were maintained. To avoid direct contact with the EVM, every elector is being given a hand glove.
  10. Saturday’s voting was held in the Assamese heartland comprising the south and north banks of the Brahmaputra River.

Notably, the voting time was extended by an hour to ensure precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic. The counting of votes and results for the polls to West Bengal’s 294-member Vidhan Sabha and 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly will be declared on May 2, 2021.

With Agency inputs