Mamata Banerjee casts vote in Bhabanipur

KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday cast her vote at a polling booth in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur.

Banerjee, a resident of Harish Chatterjee Street, exercised her franchise at a polling booth in Mitra Institution school around 3.50 pm.

On a wheelchair, she briefly paused before photojournalists while coming out amid shouts of "Didi, Didi", before boarding her car.

She also showed a victory sign towards the cameras.

Banerjee is a two-term MLA from Bhabanipur, but is contesting the elections this time from Nandigram in the Purba Medinipur district, taking on BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.

Earlier in the day, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is the chief minister's nephew, also voted at the same booth.

TMC has fielded veteran politician Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay from Bhabanipur against BJP's celebrity candidate Rudranil Ghosh.

The Left-led Sanjukta Morcha has fielded Congress's Md Shadab Khan.

Bhabanipur was voting in the seventh phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal.

Polling to the 294-member assembly is being held in eight phases, beginning on March 27.

The votes will be counted on May 2.