Several incidents of violence reported on Sunday as voting took place in seven municipalities in five districts of West Bengal. Not only bombs were hurled near polling booths but electronic voting machines (EVMs) were also damaged in some areas allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadres.
Violence was reported mainly from Raiganj Municipality in North Dinajpur district, Domkal in Murshidabad district and Pujali in South 24 Parganas district. Raiganj and Domkal are located in plains of North Bengal, while Pujali is in the South.
So far there are no reports of major violence in the four municipalities in the hills of North Bengal - Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik — in Darjeeling district and Kalimpong district.
Speaking to The Hindu State Congress general secretary Om Prakash Mishra said that the “the way election is being conducted in the Domkal, Pujali and Raiganj manipulators is illegal and unconstitutional."
“This is a blatant attack on democracy,” he said.
He, however, did not make it clear whether the Congress will demand complete re-poll in these three municipalities.
“We are discussing the issue,” Mr Mishra said.
Soon after the polling started in the newly formed Domkal municipality in Murshidabad, armed TMC cadres allegedly began to hurl bombs in the Mamudpur and Dakshin Nagar area to drive away the voters. The Opposition alleged that they TMC's intention was to scare away the voters.
Accusing the ruling party of driving away the polling agents of the Left-Congress alliance in one of the wards in Domkal, the united Opposition staged road blockade in the area. Clashes between the ruling and opposition party cadres were reported inside a polling booth in Murshidabad’s Raghunathpur.
In the Sekhalipara area of Domkal municipality the agents of the TMC and Independent candidate came to blows. A voter was also assaulted by TMC cadres while standing in queue outside a polling booth in Domkal. He was later hospitalised.
In Raiganj municipality the opposition parties accused TMC of resorting to false voting and the TMC cadres clashed with the workers of the Left Front and Congress supporters.
In another incident in Raiganj local Congress leadership accused the TMC cadres of hurling bombs in near a polling booth to drive away the voters.
As for the Pujali municipality the opposition parties alleged that TMC-backed miscreants fired several rounds near a polling booth causing the poll workers to run away. In one of the pooling booths in Poojali voting was disrupted for sometime as EVM was damaged by miscreants.
A leader of TMC Soumik Hossain has said that the Opposition “has failed to garner any support” and thus “concocting allegations.”
