Paschim Medinipur (West Bengal) former police officer and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Debra constituency Bharati Ghosh on Thursday alleged that her polling agent was not being allowed to enter a polling booth in Nowpara area by goons from Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the second phase of assembly elections in West Bengal.
Ghosh while speaking to the media said: “In Abpara, booth 22, zone-1, my polling agent is surrounded by 150 goons of TMC. They have not been allowed to enter the polling booth and this drama is going on.” Last 1.5 hours
“Voters are being threatened in Barunia. They are being threatened before entering the booth. We are also getting sporadic reports from other booths,” he said.
The BJP candidate also called upon the Election Commission (EC) to take stern action against the culprits. He said, “The change ‘(change) will be 200 percent.”
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were seen guarding the polling stations in Purva Medinipur district, helping the senior citizens who came out to vote.
Voting is being held in 30 assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas, Bankura, Pashim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur districts. Of the 171 candidates in the fray, 152 are male and the remaining are female.
Two of these candidates are undoubtedly the most prominent figures, ie Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her former minister colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in December last year.
After the high-voltage Nandigram competition, it is Debra Assembly seat that has set high fever for the second phase of the state elections. On the Debra seat, the BJP fielded former IPS officer Bharti Ghosh as a former IPS officer, against Humayun Kabir of the Trinamool Congress. Notably, Ghosh was once close to Mamata. She joined BJP before 2019 Lok Sabha elections