In one of the more peaceful phases so far, the fifth phase of West Bengal Assembly polls witnessed nearly 80 per cent voter turn out till 5 p.m. on Saturday. Apart from few sporadic incidents of violence, no major clashes took place during the day.
“The turnout in South 24 Parganas district was 79.69 per cent while in Kolkata South it was 63.10 per cent. In Hooghly district, 78.98 percent votes were polled. The overall turnout till 5 p.m. was 78.25 per cent,” Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kumar Gupta said.
Interestingly, unlike in previous phases, in the fifth phase, Trinamool Congress supporters were allegedly bashed up in many places by Left Front supporters. In the Baruipur East constituency in South 24 Parganas, five TMC cadres were injured and two of them received bullet wounds. Police detained six persons in connection with the incident.
Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee alleged that CPI(M) workers opened fire at TMC cadres. In the Basanti area of South 24 Parganas, four persons were injured in a clash between cadres of the TMC and the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
An FIR was lodged against senior TMC leader and Deputy Speaker Sonali Guha for giving instructions to assault a CPI(M) polling agent. Several clashes took place at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas. In the Satulia area of Bhangar, four persons were injured in a clash. One person was injured in another clash in the Nalpukur area of Bhangar. In the Khanakul area of Hooghly one person was detained for allegedly preventing 50 women voters from exercising their franchise. After the intervention of the sector officer, they were able to cast their votes.
Crude bombsCrude bombs were recovered from the Lake Town area in North Kolkata and the Iqbalpur area in the southern part of the city.
In the three districts that went to polls, 186 persons were arrested. While in South 24 Parganas 83 were arrested, in Hooghly the figure stood at 56. In Kolkata South, 47 persons were arrested. Left-Congress supported Independent candidate Ambikesh Mahapatra alleged that he was assaulted by TMC cadres in Haridevpur.
In the Tarakeswar and Arambagh areas of Hooghly district, two presiding officers were removed for unduly helping voters in a booth. “FIRs have been lodged against both of them,” said Mr. Gupta.
Large serpentine queues were seen outside booths when polling started at 7 a.m. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is contesting from Bhawanipore in the city, exercised her franchise at Mitra Institution at 3.50 p.m. A grim-faced
Ms. Banerjee sported a customary victory sign and left without uttering a word. While the Opposition welcomed the steps taken by the Election Commission, the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged that Central forces were more pro-active and it prevented voters from casting votes.
Transgender officerThe elections for the first time witnessed a transgender presiding officer managing the polls.
In booth number 260 at the Rashbehari Assembly segment at South City International School, the responsibility of conducting elections was on Riya Sarkar. “None can stop me from playing a more meaningful role in society,” the school teacher told The Hindu .
Thanking the Election Commission for the opportunity, Ms. Sarkar said she had the education and the criteria to perform the duty of a presiding officer.
She said the voting was peaceful and all stakeholders were very cordial to her.
