States »EasPosted at: Apr 1 2021 12:21PM Around 37.41 pc voting till 1130 hrs, in second phase WB Assembly
(rpt, correcting overall due to system error)
Kolkata, Apr 1 (UNI) Around 37.41 per cent of 7.5 million electorates exercised their franchise till 1130 hours on Thursday in the second phase West Bengal Assembly election to 30 seats to decide the fate of 171 candidates, an Election Commission (EC) official here said.
Long queues were seen outside polling stations, where voting will continue till 6.30 PM.
In a bid to boost the morale of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday decided to change her schedule amid the incidents of violence that were reported overnight. She will now stay put in Nandigram for the night and travel to North Bengal tomorrow morning.
Ms Banerjee is monitoring the situation in the high-profile Nandigram constituency where polling began at 7 am as local TMC leaders complained of their election agents not being allowed to enter several booths, according to the party sources.
A BJP worker was found hanging at his home in Nandigram in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district on Thursday, triggering tension in the area amid the high-profile election here, police said.
Uday Dubey was found hanging at his home in the Bhekutia area of Nandigram in the morning, they said.
The Election Commission asked for a report from the Purba Midnapore district administration after the dead body of BJP worker Uma Shankar Dubey was traced in the morning.
In another incident, a Trinamool Congress worker allegedly stabbed to death in Paschim Medinipur district in the early hours of Thursday, hours before polling started in the area, a senior police official said.
Unidentified miscreants killed a TMC worker with a sharp weapon last night, at Dadpur village in Paschim Midnapore district. SP Paschim Midnapore said.
"Eight people arrested in connection with the murder," the SP added.
There have been no reports of violence or clashes among political activists in the constituency, barring an incident in the Bhimkata area in Nandigram where the BJP candidate faced an agitation by a group of TMC workers who shouted slogans against him, an Election Commission official said.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate in Kharagpur Sadar Assembly Constituency Hiron Chatterjee said, “People here want development. We need a super speciality hospital and a women's college here.”
A large number of people have come out to cast their vote today, said Mr Chatterjee. He later visited a polling station in the constituency.
UNI BM-PC RN