Although cases of violence were reported in some areas in north Kolkata on Monday as the city went to polls, the general mood in the rest of the Kolkata - Uttar constituency - was that of an extended weekend. Roads were empty, save for a few commercial vehicles, and shutters were down at all shops. Renowned sweet shops like the one of Nabin Chandra Das said to be the founder of the rasagulla , were also closed.
By 3 p.m., the majority mark had crossed in many polling booths in north Kolkata.
Around 56 per cent of the electors had cast their vote at Maharaja Manindra Chandra College in north Kolkata’s Shyambazar area by 1 p.m., poll officials said.
At A.V. School nearby, about 60 per cent of the voters had exercised their franchise by 1.30 p.m. But at SVS Vidyalaya at Kalabagan, an area mostly inhabited by Hindi-speaking people, the turnout at 3 p.m. was about 45 per cent. All the polling booths were “100 per cent peaceful”, said police personnel.
Nurul Islam, a police officer posted at Manindra Chandra College, said, “Many young voters, probably voting for the first time, raced ahead of their families to cast their vote. I have been in this duty for about 30 years, but I have never seen such enthusiastic young voters.”
Polling officers felt that the voter turnout this year was higher than that of the previous years.
The strength of north Kolkata clearly lay among the older generation as many elderly persons braved the heat to go out and vote. Octogenarian sisters-in-law Gouri and Parul Pramanick slowly walked into the polling booth at Central Modern School at Paikpara.
“Many elderly persons have come here. They have been sent ahead of the line instead of being made to wait in the queue,” Mr. Islam said.
“Women’s turnout is increasing. Earlier, voting was considered a man’s job. That outdated school of thinking is changing over the years and more women are stepping out to vote,” said polling agent Bishwanath Sur.
