Assembly Polls Live: By 5 pm, 70% of Assam; 80% of WB Voted
Watch this space for all the updates on voting day in the first phase of polls in West Bengal and Assam.
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- 75 percent voters’ turnout recorded in the first phase of West Bengal Polls.
- 66.95 percent voters’ turnout recorded in the first phase of Assam polls.
- Candidates in phase 1: 539 candidates from 65 constituencies in Assam; 133 candidates from 18 constituencies in West Bengal.
- CM Tarun Gogoi cast his vote early this morning in Jorhat, Titabar. BJP’s CM candidate Sarbananda Sonowal also cast his vote this morning in Majuli.
Voter Turnout at 5 PM
Assam poll percentage: 70 percent.
west Bengal poll percentage: 80 percentage.
Over 75 percent voters’ turnout recorded till 4 pm for the first phase of West Bengal polls.
Over 66.95 percent voters turnout recorded till 3 pm for the first phase of Assam polls.
BJP’s Sonowal Casts Vote
BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Assam Sarbananda Sonowal casted his vote on Monday.
Rahul Gandhi Attacks BJP at Goalpara Rally in Assam
Calling BJP a ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Goalpara, Assam said,
More Than 300 Villagers Protest in Purulia
More than 300 villagers have boycotted the Assembly Elections’ polling in a protest against not getting electricity and water in their village in Purulia, West Bengal.
Some Polling Booths in WB Face Violence
According to reports of media channels based in West Bengal, certain polling booths witnessed bouts of violence. ABP journalist Shomnath Das was reportedly beaten up along with his camera person in front of Central security forces in Salboni area of West Midnapore district.
Salboni, West Midnapore: Rice-Beer, Wild Boars & a Failed Industry
Just a few months ago, Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a Rs 800-crore Jindal cement plant in Salboni, seven years after the Rs 35,000-crore, 10-mt integrated steel project fell through.
But the plant only covers 800 acres of the total 4,300 acres of land initially acquired. Effectively, more than 3,000 acres is now lying unused. For the villagers who gave up land for the project, the future is bleaker than ever.
The acquired land can neither be cultivated, nor is it being utilised for industrial purposes. For Swarup Rana, the entire process has been a waste of land and infrastructure.
Disappointment also marks the voices of Saresh Mahato and Nityasundar Das. Both now graze their cattle in the acquired land, entering through gaps left in the boundary.
As elections begin in West Bengal on Monday - West Midnapore is one of the districts polling in the first phase - one cannot help but note that an industrialised Bengal is still a distant reality.
Read the full story on The Quint.
More than 35 per cent of the 95,11,732 voters, including Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, exercised their franchise amidst tight security till mid day during the first phase of voting on Monday.
Presiding Officer in Purulia Allegedly Tried to Influence Voters
The first four hours of polling in the 18 constituencies of the first phase of West Bengal polls, witnessed a heavy turnout as more than 45 per cent people cast their votes till 11 am.
- West Midnapore: 47.53%
- Bankura: 45.02%
- Purulia: 43.43%
- Average percentage: 45.32%
Out of the 18 seats, 13 are being treated as Left Wing Extremism affected areas where voting will end early at 4 pm due to security considerations. In the remaining five constituencies of Purulia, Manbazar, Kashipur, Para and Raghunathpur voting will go on for two extra hours till 6 PM.
The commission received about 70 complaints, mostly about malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs), while a presiding officer in a booth in Purulia district of West Bengal was changed following the allegation of trying to influence voters.
Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) have been made available in 562 polling stations.
Under VVPAT, a printer-like apparatus is linked to the EVM. When a vote is cast, a receipt is generated showing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate. It confirms the vote and the voter can verify the details.
Assam however, saw a voter turnout of only 19 percent till 11 am.
Rahul in Assam to Campaign for Second Phase
Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi will be campaigning for the second phase of Assam Assembly elections, on Monday.
He will be addressing rallies in Goalpara, Dhubri and Bongaigon districts of Assam.
Try out The Quint’s Really Easy West Bengal Poll Quiz!
Moneybags, Criminals, and Some Surprises in Assam Polls
The Quint brings you the low-down on the first phase of voting for Assam. There are candidates with criminal cases, there are crorepatis and surprisingly even some people with no money in their bank account.
Voter Turnout in West Bengal Recorded Higher than in Assam
Around 23 percent voter turnout has been recorded till 9 am in the first phase of West Bengal polls.
An Election Commission official said that a few complaints of electronic voting machine malfunctioning have been received.
Both the Congress and the Left Front alleged Trinamool Congress activists were attempting to influence and intimidate voters in several booths in Purulia district of West Bengal–a charge which was rubbished by the ruling party.
In Assam, the voter turnout percentage was recorded at 12 till 9 am.
Voters, particularly women and first timers, were seen queuing at polling booths from 5 am in Assam to participate in the democratic process where the ruling Congress, the BJP-AGP-BPF alliance and the AIUDF are locked in a keen battle.
Security is at its highest in the state with the Indo-Bangla border along Barak Valley’s Karimganj district in Assam sealed, and 535 companies of security forces of central and state police deployed in the 65 constituencies spread across Upper Assam.
Watch Out for the Stars in West Bengal Polls
The candidates’ list of the ruling Trinamool Congress has ample star power once again. They include former Indian cricketer Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, Bengali actor Soham Chakraborty, Board of Control for Cricket in India’s late president Jagmohan Dalmiya’s daughter Vaishali, and Indian football ex-captain Bhaichung Bhutia.
Bhaichung Bhutia is also not a stranger to politics. He lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a Trinamool ticket. Actor-turned-politician Debashree Roy, the legislator from Raidighi, will again lock horns with Communist Party of India-Marxist heavyweight Kanti Ganguly.
The BJP too is trying to tap Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s legacy in this part of India by fielding his grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose in Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s constituency of Bhawanipore.
Read the full story on The Quint.
People Are Craving for a Change: Sonowal
Assam BJP president and chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal said that the party will secure a majority.
In Assam, there are 134 model polling stations, which have facilities of a medical team, eateries, felicitation of the eldest voter and getting a tree planted by the eldest voter.
Free toffies will also be given to children accompanying their mothers in these model polling stations.
Gogoi Confident of a Win
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi arrives at a polling booth in Jorhat to cast his vote.
Even as opinion polls suggest that Congress and BJP will be neck-and-neck in the state, Gogoi said, “I don’t think it is a tough battle. I will be the chief minister”.
Voting for the first phase of elections has begun in West Bengal and Assam on Monday morning.
In Bengal, the first phase has 133 candidates in the fray. The 18 poll-going constituencies include nine in Purulia, three in Bankura and six in West Midnapore.
In 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected constituencies in the state, polling will end two hours early at 4 pm.
In Assam, voting began in 65 constituencies, officials said.
A total of 95,11,732 voters, including 45,95,712 females will vote in Assam. The fate of 539 candidates will be decided today.
The big names include Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Titabar constituency, and the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal in Majuli.
(Also read: The Quint’s Ground Report: Majuli, World’s Largest River Island)
Voting will be held at 12,190 polling stations.
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Published: 04 Apr 2016,08:26 AM IST