While police pickets were positioned at number of places following complaints from candidates, the State Election Commission too registered a number of complaints in these regards.
At Bidyadhari Primary School in Duttabad that comes under Ward 39, the BJP candidate Soumyadep Bhattacharya (32) complained he and his election agent were heckled outside the booth when he protested against a large number of false voters who were queueing up on multiple occasions for casting false votes.
“Everything is happening in front of the cops and polling officers. . When we protested, they assaulted me,” said Bhattacharya.
Some voters also complained of slow voting. “I have been standing in the queue for more than an hour. There are men and women who are jumping queues and are entering and leaving the booths on multiple occasions,” said a woman in his 40s.
TMC candidate Rajesh Chirimar, however, refuted the allegations. “Last time, 82% of people from this area voted for me. What is the need of rigging then?” he asked.
Altercation between TMC and BJP candidates took an even dramatic turn at a booth inside Reserve Bank Quarters off Sukantanagar in Ward 37 as outgoing TMC councillor Minu Das Chakraborty had a scuffle and war of slangs with BJP’s Pramita Saha Ghosh. While Ghosh alleged Chakraborty’s election agent to be an outsider, Chakraborty called Ghosh an outsider and began a chaos that ended up in a fisticuffs of sorts between the two. Ghosh later lodged a complaint of attempt to molestation against Chakraborty and her party workers before the election commission.
At Hatiara High Madrasa under Ward 13, CPM and BJP candidates alleged their polling agents were beaten up by TMC workers and thrown out of the booth. A large team of cops along with Quick Response Team personnel reached the spot and dispersed the mob.
On RBU campus in Salt Lake EE Block, CPM supporters claimed TMC men were casting false votes and a clash ensued between supporters of the two parties. Amidst the chaos a TV journalist was injured. Similar complaints were raised at AG Primary school in Baisakhi as well.
Left leaders and workers later staged a demonstration at Karunamoyee crossing against “day-long fake voting”. BJP’s Bhaskar Roy complained: “In several places, our candidates were intimidated.”
“There were no outsiders at any place and voting was very peaceful. We are confident of winning all 41 wards of Bidhannagar,” said minister Jyotipriya Mullick.
