India elections: Violence, vote-rigging charges dominate West Bengal poll

Kolkata: As West Bengal marched towards another impressive turnout in the fourth leg of the five-phase elections in the state, charges of vote-rigging, booth-capturing and sporadic violence took centrestage in the six constituencies including the Maoist heartland that went to polls on Wednesday.

Election Commission officials were jolted by a call from an 18-year old girl, from a remote village in the Asansol parliamentary constituency, who reported that Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers had surrounded the village and would not let around a hundred legitimate voters cast their vote.

Police had to escort the villagers to the polling stations after an order by the poll panel in the city.

Other incidents of voter intimidation were also reported from other constituencies, where voters were specifically asked not to cast their votes.

The opposition Left Front (LF) headed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged its polling agents were beaten up and prevented from manning the booths in several areas.

Left Front (LF) chairman Biman Bose alleged a lot of booths across Purulia, Bankura, Midnapore and Jhargram were captured by the Trinamool activists and fake votes were cast. In Pandbeshwar of Burdwan district, a physically challenged man was mercilessly beaten up by some goons backed by a political party after he cast his vote.

TMC activists also surrounded and blocked the car of the Communist Party of India candidate from Medinipur, Prabodh Panda, outside a polling booth, alleging the vehicle had a Member of Parliament sticker.

TMC, LF, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are in the fray in all the parliamentary constituencies that went to polls on Wednesday.

Of the LF partners, the CPI-M is contesting four seats, leaving one each to the Communist Party of India and the All India Forward Bloc.

In 2009, LF candidates bagged all the six seats.

“There is blatant booth capturing, rigging by the TMC activists. I had personally given specific information to the EC, but somehow they have failed to act,” said BJP candidate from Asansol Babul Supriyo, who was allegedly stopped from entering a booth by the activist of the ruling party.

Althought the EC claimed the elections were free and fair, political parties accused it of falling pray to the diversionary tactics of the TMC and also not allowing the central forces to function.

“Central forces are hardly found in most of the booths. Even in places where it is deployed, state police is officially threatening them not to do their duty and the poll panel is not taking any action,” said CPM candidate from Bankura, Basudev Acharya.

West Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha seats, of which four voted April 17, six April 24 and nine April 30. Elections will be held for 17 constituencies in the final phase May 12. Votes polled across the country would be counted May 16.