EC seeks report of polling agent death in Kamarhati booth; Clashes break out at Bidhanagar and Santipur
Kolkata , Apr 17 ( UNI) The Election Commission has sought report over death of a BJP polling agent, identified as Abhijit Samanta, at booth number 107 in Kamarhati assembly constituency in North 24 Pathanas, and a clash broke out between the TMC and BJP supporters at at Shantinagar under Bidhanagar assembly segment, Salt Lake, even as overall voting was peaceful for 5th phase 45 seats in which an estimated 20 per cent vote was polled in the first three hours from 7 am today.
” Nobody helped him, there is no facility for treatment here,” the victim’s brother alleged as the corps was on a table at the booth for quite some time before any help came for shifting to nearby hospital.
Stones and bricks were hurled in between the TMC and BJP activists at Shantinagar under Bidhangar where the rival parties blamed each other for obstructing voters to go to the booths. BJP candidate Sabyasachi Dutta alleged the TMC goons were creating problem before the combat force arrived to restore the situation.
At Santipur in Nadia also where tension broke out before the central forces took control of the situation. Of the 45 constituencies going to polls, 16 seats in North 24 Parganas, eight in Purba Bardhaman, eight in Nadia, seven in
Jalpaiguri, five in Darjeeling and one in Kalimpong district.
A total of 45 seats go to polls on Saturday when 1.13 crore voters will exercise their franchise and decide the fate of 342 candidates, including Siliguri Mayor and Left Front leader Ashok Bhattacharya, state minister Bratya Basu and BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6.30 pm at 15,789 polling stations.