Voting for bypolls to five assembly constituencies — two each in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, and one in Puducherry — and one Lok Sabha seat in Assam concluded on Tuesday. The results will be declared on October 9.
“Polling is being held peacefully. Law is equal for everyone, and nobody should try to violate it. Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that Rejinagar witnessed a new form of electoral violence. “There is silent terror and vote-rigging in Rejinagar. No bombs were hurled, no gunshots were fired, and no blood was shed. The bypolls were necessitated by the resignation of AIADMK MLAs, Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam) and P Sathyabama (Dharapuram) who switched over to the ruling TVK and are contesting from CM Joseph Vijay’s party.
In West Bengal, Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies recorded 80.89% and 80% tentative turnouts, respectively, according to data on Election Commission’s website as of 11.45 pm. In Nandigram, the contest is mainly between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hasirani Rath, the mother of slain aide of Adhikari, and Congress’s Milan Pradhan , who recently walked out of jail after being granted bail by the Calcutta high court in six criminal cases dating back to 2007. In Tamil Nadu, polling ended peacefully, with Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies, both reserved segments, registering a turnout of 86.26% and 80.30%, respectively, according to ECI data.
An EC official, however, said voting was mostly “peaceful”, barring a few untoward incidents. We are witnessing a good turnout in both the assembly constituencies where adequate central forces have been deployed,” the official said, adding that they have sought a report from the district election office regarding the detaining of Kabir following an argument with police during polling at Rejinagar constituency. Adhikari, who cast his vote in Nandigram, said: “The Nowda MLA (Kabir) was detained since he violated EC rules and moved outside his booth area. But the police carried out terror without any hindrance and cast false votes,” he said.
The bypolls came under scrutiny after Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder Humayun Kabir was detained earlier in the day and the Congress demanded repolling in both seats, alleging voter intimidation and irregularities cast.
