Barring stray incidents, polling in West Burdwan peaceful, BJP candidate’s vehicle damaged

Barring a few stray incidents, polling across the nine Assembly constituencies of West Burdwan district passed off largely peacefully on Wednesday. However, reports of clashes and tension between Trinamul Congress (TMC) and BJP supporters emerged after 2 p.m. in parts of the Asansol Sadar and Durgapur sub-divisions. Voter turnout was reported to be high, though final figures are yet to be released by the district election officer.

In a major incident, the vehicle of BJP leader and Asansol South candidate Agnimitra Paul was allegedly vandalised at Rahamat Nagar under Hirapur police station limits. Window panes of her vehicle were damaged after stones and bricks were reportedly hurled when she entered the minority-dominated locality, considered a stronghold of former TMC MLA Sohrab Ali. The incident occurred despite the presence of Central forces, leading to heightened tension in the area.

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Ms Paul later lodged an FIR at Hirapur police station. Earlier in the day, she was also involved in an altercation with sub-inspector Nasrin Sultana. Police at Nimcha reportedly stopped her convoy, alleging that she was travelling with too many vehicles. Ms Paul denied the allegation, stating that she had only two vehicles, while the others belonged to media personnel accompanying her.

She further alleged that voters in areas such as Damra, Nakrasota, Rahamat Nagar, Hussein Nagar and Dharampur were threatened by TMC supporters. According to her, known troublemakers had entered these areas the previous night to disrupt polling.

On the other hand, TMC’s Durgapur West candidate Kabi Dutta alleged that Central forces were not allowing elderly voters to enter polling booths and were forcing them to stand in long queues under the sun.

Several prominent leaders, including Asansol MP Shatrughan Sinha, Durgapur MP Kirti Jha Azad, labour minister Moloy Ghatak, panchayat minister Pradip Mazumdar, BJP leaders Agnimitra Paul and Lakhsman Ghorui, TMC district president Narendranath Chakraborty and senior leader Tapas Banerjee, cast their votes during the day and expressed satisfaction with the polling process. Kabi Dutta also cast his vote along with family members.

Earlier, TMC candidate Pradip Mazumdar and BJP candidate Chandrasekhar Banerjee offered prayers at the Bhiringi Kali temple before polling began.

Clashes were reported at booth number 104 in Vambey Colony, Durgapur East, where TMC and BJP supporters allegedly hurled stones and glass bottles at each other. BJP candidate Chandrasekhar Banerjee accused TMC supporters of attempting to capture the booth, alleging fear of defeat. He later staged a sit-in protest along with his supporters.

In another incident in Benachity, an elderly woman alleged that her vote had already been cast when she reached the polling booth, triggering political controversy in the Durgapur West constituency.

Despite these incidents, polling across the district remained largely peaceful.