Mamata casts vote in Bhabanipur bypoll, results on Oct 3 likely

PBC News:  Voting for the by-elections to the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, Jangipur and Shamserganj in Murshidabad of the Indian state of West Bengal began at 7:00am (local time) on Thursday, ANI reported.

The voting that continued till 6.30pm is crucial for the ruling party as its results will confirm whether the chief minister will be able to continue the role.

Till 3:00pm, Bhabanipur recorded a voter turnout of 48.08%. The turnout in Shamserganj was 72.45%, while in Jangipur it was 68.17%.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who is the party’s candidate for the Bhabanipur seat, also cast her vote.

TMC All-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said polling in the Bhabanipur constituency went well, moments after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cast her vote at about 3:00pm. On the other hand, the BJP claimed their leader Kalyan Choubey was attacked, but the TMC denied the allegations. Till 5:00pm, Bhabanipur polled 53.32 per cent votes.

The Bhabanipur by-election is vital for Mamata as she needs to get elected as an MLA by the first week of November to continue as the chief minister.

In the West Bengal Assembly elections held earlier this year, Mamata had contested from the Nandigram against her former aide Suvendu Adhikari. He had defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party before the polls. Banerjee lost Nandigram to Adhikari by a margin of 1,956 votes.

For the Bhabanipur by-poll, the saffron party has fielded lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal against Mamata. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Srijib Biswas also contested the election.

More than three lakh eligible voters cast their ballots in the by-poll, NDTV reported. The counting of votes will take place on October 3.

Tibrewal, the BJP’s candidate, alleged that Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra wanted to capture a booth in Bhabanipur and had deliberately turned off the voting machine there, ANI reported.

“We are hoping for fair elections,” Tibrewal said. “Security deployment is very important. I will visit polling booths in the area today. The state government is in fear right now.”

The BJP’s candidate also alleged that accused the Trinamool Congress of paying some people to cast their votes for the ruling party.

“A man confessed to me that TMC paid him Rs 500 to cast vote,” she alleged. “He was from Bansdroni. I have informed the authorities.”

In Bhabanipur, a minor scuffle also took place between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP workers, according to PTI. The BJP accused the ruling party of bringing fake voters inside the polling centre.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission received 40 complaints regarding rigging, threats, and influencing voters, the Hindustan Times reported. The BJP had made 23 of the total complaints.

The TMC also registered a complaint with the poll panel against Tibrewal, accusing her of moving with an entourage of 20 cars and intimidating voters, PTI reported. Tibrewal has denied the charge.

On Tuesday, the commission had banned the gathering of five or more people under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in Bhabanipur. The prohibitory orders will be in place till the end of polling.

Central forces have been deployed in Bhabanipur, Jangipur and Shamserganj. Thirty-five companies have been sent to Bhabanipur.