Central force personnel guarding during Poll officials check electronic
voting machines at a distribution center before leaving for various
polling stations at Bolpur in Birbhum district of West Bengal on Saturday.
Three workers from both BJP and TMC have been arrested, according to police.
A clash
between BJP and TMC workers on Sunday left eight persons injured in Dumrut
village in Birbhum district where polling is underway, police said.
Three
workers from both sides were arrested, they said.
BJP has
claimed all the injured as their supporters.
Tension
also prevailed at Sian village under Nanoor constituency in Birbhum and at
Kankartala village under Dubrajpur constituency with the Forward Bloc alleging
that their agents were threatened by the Trinamool Congress.
Reports
from north Bengal, where polls are being held in six districts of Alipurduar,
Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda besides Birbhum
in South Bengal, said non-functioning EVMs caused delays in beginning the
polling process as voters waited patiently in queue.
Cloudy
weather provided the voters reprieve in north Bengal.
Reports
from Malda said seven EVMs failed to function at Englishbazar, Chanchol and
Manikchak as polling began at 7 am, delaying voting by an hour.
In
Jalpaiguri, voting was stalled temporarily at a booth in Jalpaiguri Sadar as
the VVPAT did not function, polling officials said.
Four EVMs
— two at Jalpaiguri Sadar constituency and two at Rajganj — did not function
properly delaying polling.
In
Darjeeling district, a malfunctioning EVM resulted in a two hour delay as
polling began in the morning at Matigara-Naxalbari (SC) assembly constituency,
polling officials said.
Birbhum
district in South Bengal where elections are also being held on Sunday reported
malfunctioning of EVMs in three booths at Karidhya under Suri Assembly
constituency.
In Malda,
a presiding officer in booth no: 163 in Englishbazar assembly segment was
removed after the CPI(M) complained that the officer was allegedly working in
favour of Trinamool Congress and allowing impersonation of votes.
The
District Election Officer has ordered his removal and replacement.
In Saithia
assembly constituency, a polling officer in booth no: 13 Abhimanyu Pal was
taken ill. Polling, however, was not affected, reports said.
In
Jalpaiguri district, the CPI(M) has complained that their polling agent was not
being allowed to enter a booth in Rajganj (SC) constituency by Trinamool
Congress workers, a charge denied by the latter.
In an
incident at Raigunj in North Dinajpur district, a makeshift tent of the
Congress was vandalised on poll eve, North Dinjapur Congress general secretary
Pabitra Chandra said, adding that they had informed the police and EC on
Sunday.
He blamed
the Trinamool Congress for the incident.
Source: PTI/The Hindu
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