The voting was gradually picking up in the first phase elections with Bengal recording 36.09% by noon while Assam’s data at this stage was 26.37%.
In Assam, the BJP is contesting 39 of 47 seats in this phase and ally AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) in 10. The two parties will go head-to-head in a “friendly contest” in two seats.
The Congress – part of a ‘mahajot’ (grand alliance) – will contest 43, with one each for the AIDUF of Badruddin Ajmal, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the AGM and the CPIML.
A third option is the fledgling Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which was formed last year by the All Assam Students’ Union and the Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad.
The first phase of Bengal elections for 30 seats began this morning with large number of people lining up outside polling booths even as the shadow of arson made its appearance. Some 15.30% of votes have been recorded so far until 10.20 a.m.
Long queues were seen outside several booths much before the polling began at 7 a.m in the morning. Most were trying to avoid the heat later in the day; some tried to avoid the violence which could erupt in a State notorious for such incidents during elections.
At Tulsidi village in Purulia’s Bandwan, an election vehicle was et on fire hours before the polling began, as per The Telegraph. The area is surrounded by forests which were once the hideouts of Maoists, officials were quoted.
10 MPs of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) will visit State Election Commission at 12 noon to raise ‘serious concerns, as per reports. TMC has alleged EVM malfunctioning in polling booths across Bankura, Purulia, West Midnapore and East Midnapore.
People without masks in the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic were a common sight. Yet in several booths, voters were being provided with masks and sanitisers were available at all polling booths.
The Trinamool Congress is contesting 29 of the 30 seats, while supporting an Independent in the Joypur assembly segment in Purulia since the nomination of its official candidate Ujjwal Kumar was rejected by the EC due to a discrepancy.
The BJP is also contesting 29 seats and backing ally AJSU Party of Jharkhand in Baghmundi.
The Left-Congress-ISF alliance has put up candidates in all 30 seats, even as there are “friendly fights” in some.
Of these 30 seats, 27 were won by the TMC in the 2016 assembly elections, the Congress bagged two and RSP one.
However, the equations changed in 2019 with BJP making massive inroads in the tribal-dominated Jungle Mahal region, winning all five Lok Sabha constituencies — Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Medinipur and Bishnupur.
Total 73,80,942 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the first phase. Of them, 37,52,938 are male and 36,27,949 female, while there are 55 third gender voters.
Bengal is voting in eight phases for 294 seats.
Prime minister Narendra Modi has urged people of Assam and Bengal to go out in large numbers and cast their votes. “Urging those eligible to vote in record numbers. I particularly call upon my young friends to vote,” PM Modi tweeted in his message for Assam. Similarly, he urged Bengal voters to “exercise their franchise in record numbers”.
The results of the Bengal and Assam elections, as well as that of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry, will be declared on May 2.
