ImageCourtesy: indianexpress.com
The Kolkata municipal polls ended peacefully without any major disruptions causing hindrances on Saturday afternoon but was troubled by cases of booth capture, riots, bombing and threats, allegedly resorted to mostly by the ruling Trinamool Congress party. The party has supposedly reported to ‘silent terror’ to invoke fear in the minds of voters to cast their votes freely, according to the statements of the rivals BJP and CPM leaders.
The State Election Commission that monitors the voting process and later the counting said that it had recorded about 60% polling when the process was stopped at three in the afternoon. But there were still many voters in the queue in many areas and the percentage was likely to increase. Police sources said that there had been 58 arrests across the city in connection with poll violence and other chaos. 70 such complaints had been received all over regarding the troubles and associated malpractices.
The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, highly denied their involvement in any such chaos and said that great enthusiasm was noticed among voters and they cast their ballots in an atmosphere of peace and security. Strict security arrangements had been ensured with CRPF forces being deployed all over during the polls along with state and Kolkata police and Rapid Action Force, along with squads of sniffer dogs. The State Election Commission had also hired a drone for aerial surveillance and pressed it into service in the Cossipore area, in north Kolkata, where group clashes had broken out days prior to the polls.
The current West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, cast her vote at Mitra Institution in North Kolkata at 2.30 in the afternoon. The sitting Mayor of the city, Sovandev Chatterjee, who had already been declared as the Mayoral candidate by Mamata Banerjee, too, cast his vote in ward no 131. Present CPM chief Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was seen at Patha Bhavan school with wife Meera Bhatatcharjee.
Both cast their votes peacefully. Surya Kanta Mishra, the party’s state secretary and politburo member who is now in Vishakhapatnam, told in his statement to the media that the polls in Bengal had been ‘rigged’ by the Trinamool Congress, with his statement causing uproar among the TMC party. Further allegations by the rival parties included fake votes and ‘unknown’ voters appearing, with TMC firmly refusing to resort to any such tactics.
Overall, the polls were peacefully and successfully carried out, though there were incidences of mishaps and chaos. The results are expected to be revealed soon, with all the parties confident of earning the majority for themselves.
Tags: Kolkata Municipal Corporation election Trinamool Congress west bengal
