Bengal Assembly bypolls: Reports of violence in Ranaghat-Dakshin seat

Kolkata, July 10; Reports of violence have surfaced from different pockets in the four Assembly constituencies where the bypolls were being held on Wednesday. The maximum number of complaints were coming from the Ranaghat-Dakshin Assembly constituency in the Nadia district.

Tension was mounting in the Payradanga area of Ranaghat-Dakshin following complaints of an attack and ransacking of houses of several BJP workers, including a polling agent of the party, by masked miscreants in the early morning. Srabanti De, BJP’s polling agent whose house was ransacked, told media persons that around 35 miscreants arrived at her residence early morning and threatened her asking her to be at home during the polling period.

“I have sought the attention of the Election Commission of India in the matter. My house was not the only one which was ransacked. Several BJP supporters in the area faced similar threats by the miscreants, all of which have the backing of the ruling Trinamool Congress. They threatened us to remain at home during the polling period," De said.

The Nadia district police had claimed that the matter was being looked into seriously and already 26 persons have been arrested in this connection. Trinamool Congress candidate from Ranaghat-Dakshin constituency, Dr Mukut Mani Adhikari, however, has declined the allegations. “I have been on the streets since morning and moving from one place to another. I am not aware of any such complaint. Polling is going on peacefully everywhere. Rather, what I heard is that some miscreants enjoying the back of BJP are trying to intimidate the voters in certain pockets,” Adhikari said.

Insiders from the CEO's office said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought a detailed report on the matter. Meanwhile, voting was underway in the four Assembly constituencies, which have posted an average polling percentage of 10.80 after the first two hours.

As per statistics provided by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal the maximum polling percentage was reported from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district at 12.01, followed by 11.58 at Ranaghat-Dakshin in Nadia, 10.61 at Bagda in North 24 Parganas and 9.01 at Maniktala in Kolkata.