Third phase polling begins in five Bengal Lok Sabha seats
Kolkata, Apr 23 (UNI) Polling for the third of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election began at 7 AM this morning under a massive security blanket as an electorate of 8,023,846 will decide the fate of 61 candidates in five Parliamentary constituencies of Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur and Murshidabad in Bengal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Indian National Congress (INC) and the Left Front (except Maldaha Dakshin) have fielded their candidates in all the five constituencies.
There was high pitch campaigning for the five seats by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, BJP national president Amit Shah and top leaders of the Congress and Left parties.
The high-pitched campaign was mainly polarised between Banerjee and Modi.
Issues ranging from corruption to communalism, NRC to chitfund scams, and development to security featured in the speeches of the warring party leaders.
The TMC called upon the people to defeat the Modi government while the Prime Minister urged voters to exercise their franchise in his party's favour.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has deployed a total of 324 companies of central forces, which are covering over 92 per cent of the polling booths in the five Lok Sabha constituencies, to ensure free and fair polling, a senior election official said.
Besides general election observers and expenditure observers, the poll panel has for the first time deployed a special police observer.
In Balurghat, there are thirteen contestants, including those from the mainstream parties such as TMC, BJP, RSP and Congress, but the main fight will be between TMC and BJP.
There are only two woman candidate in the fray in Balurghat constituency.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates Arpita Ghosh defeated Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) Bimalendu Sarkar to break the Left party’s hold over this Parliamentary constituency.
The Revolutionary Socialist Party had held the seat, reserved for members of Scheduled Caste communities till 2009, from 1977.
The ruling TMC has fielded Arpita Ghosh from this constituency once again who is pitted against RSP candidate Ranen Barman, BJP candidate Sukanta Mujumdar and INC candidate Abdus Sadeq Sarkar.
As per the Election Commission data in 2019, total number of electorate in Balurghat Lok Sabha seat is 14, 29, 783 of whom 7,35, 851 are male, 6,93,876 female and 56 third genders voters.
A total number of 1530 polling stations has been set up for voting.
In Maldaha Uttar, there are sixteen contestants, including those from the mainstream parties such as TMC, BJP, CPI (M) and Congress, but the main fight will be between TMC and Congress.
There are only two woman candidate in the fray in Maldaha Uttar constituency.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress candidates Mausam Noor defeated her nearest CPI(M) opponent Khagen Murmu by a margin of 65,705 votes.
The Congress this time has fielded Isha Khan Chowdhury, son of sitting Maldaha Dakshin MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury from this Maldaha Uttar constituency who is pitted against, TMC candidate and sitting MP Mausam Noor, CPI(M) candidate Biswanath Ghosh and BJP candidate Khagen Murmu.
As per the Election Commission data in 2019, total number of electorate in Maldaha Uttar Lok Sabha seat is 16,83,797 of whom 8,63,317 are male, 8,20,427 female and 53 third genders voters.
A total number of 1713 polling stations has been set up for voting.
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