A turnout of 67.27% was recorded till 3 pm on Monday as Bengal voted for the penultimate time within the eight-phase election. Polling is happening across 34 seats in parts of Paschim Bardhaman, Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Malda and south Kolkata. Over 86 lakh voters will decide the political fate of 284 candidates during this phase.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, after casting his choose Kolkata, predicted a 2/3rd majority for the Mamata Banerjee government.
A few incidents of scuffle were reported from the Asansol area, where TMC candidate Saayoni Ghosh claimed that BJP activists tried to jam booths in her constituency. The allegation was dubbed as baseless by BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul, who asserted, “Ghosh is making excuses sensing defeat”. within the Jamuria constituency, Left Front candidate Aishe Ghosh alleged that her party agents were stopped from entering the booth by TMC workers, a charge denied by the ruling party.
BJP candidate from the Rashbehari assembly constituency Lt Gen Subrata Saha’s agent was detained on Monday for allegedly molesting a couple of women voters inside a booth in Kolkata’s New Alipore area, police said.
