November 03, 2024 01:02 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Andhra Pradesh: Three-year-old girl raped and murdered by relative in Tirupati | Two terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Kashmir's Anantnag | Bengal: 5-year-old girl raped and murdered in Alipurduar, accused beaten to death by angry villagers | Kashmir: Encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in Srinagar | Mumbai Police initiates extradition process to bring back Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol Bishnoi from US
Sixty-four percent polling in Kolkata civic elections, opposition launch street protests against ‘malpractices’
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Polls
UNI

Sixty-four percent polling in Kolkata civic elections, opposition launch street protests against ‘malpractices’

| @indiablooms | 19 Dec 2021, 08:07 pm

Kolkata/UNI: Amid reports of sporadic violence and allegations of rampant malpractices and intimidation by the opposition parties, an estimated 64 percent polling was recorded till the scheduled closing time 5 P.M. in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election on Sunday.

Seventy-two people were arrested in poll-related violence, which was reported from across the city, said Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Headquarters), Subhankar Sinha Sarkar.

Two persons were injured after unidentified miscreants threw two crude bombs outside Taki High School Booth in Central Kolkata’s Sealdah area. Both Trinamool and Congress held each other responsible for the incident.

In ward 22 of north Kolkata, goons said to have been backed by the Trinamool, allegedly attacked BJP candidate and former city deputy mayor Meena Devi Purohit. In central Kolkata, Congress candidate Santosh Pathak complained that the Trinamool sent fake voters to polling booths.

The CPI-M alleged that their polling agents were driven out and candidates prevented from entering a large number of booths and set up a road block on Bagha Jatin crossing in the city’s southern outskirts.

The BJP, CPI(M) and Congress held the state e and Kolkata police responsible for their failure to prevent such incidents and accused them of remaining mute spectators.

After receiving various complaints, the State Election Commission directed the returning officer to take action over the incidents in ward 7 and ward 22 where BJP candidates Purohit and Brjaesh Jha lodged complaints claiming they were beaten up.

Meanwhile, State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar announced that the party workers have launched protests across all the districts from 1 P.M“to highlight the death of democracy” in West Bengal.

State BJP leaders, headed by Sisir Bajoria, led a party delegation to the state election commission office with a series of complaints alleging the ruling Trinamool Congress looted the vote with the help of the government machinery.

BJP, Congress and CPI(M) jointly protested at Bartolla police station.

The Trinamool Congress has fielded candidates in all the 144 wards of KMC, while the BJP is contesting in 142 wards. The CPI-M led Left Front is in the fray in 129 wards, and the Congress in 121. There are 378 independent nominees.

The results will be declared on December 21.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.