BJP candidates cast votes; Ratna Debnath flags EVM issue, Saikat Sarkar cites poll violence

Panihati, April 29 Several BJP candidates, including Ratna Debnath, cast their votes on Wednesday during the ongoing phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections. The candidates raised concerns over EVMs and poll violence.

Nearly 20 months after the R.G. Kar rape and murder victim, widely known as Abhaya, passed away, her mother has stepped into the political arena seeking justice for her daughter. Contesting the Assembly elections on a BJP ticket, she said her fight is driven by the demand for accountability.

Speaking to reporters, Debnath raised concerns over the voting process, stating, “I think the EVM machine sound appears to be delayed. There seems to be some disturbance in the machine.”

BJP candidate for Bagda Assembly, Soma Thakur, said, "I would like to appeal to all the people of the state to come forward and cast their vote."

Meanwhile, BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, contesting from Sonarpur Dakshin, cast her vote at Rajendra Shiksha Sadan Girls High School in Tollygunge. She urged voters to carry their Election Commission voter slips while coming to the polling booths.

BJP candidate from the Chapra Assembly constituency, Saikat Sarkar, alleged an incident of violence.

“At 6 a.m., our booth agent was on his way to the polling station along with other party members. A goon associated with the Trinamool Congress candidate, identified as Mofidul, allegedly attacked him with the butt of a gun, a stick, and a rod. He has been admitted to the hospital,” Sarkar claimed.

Another BJP candidate, Swapan Dasgupta from the Rashbehari constituency, expressed optimism about the conduct of polls. He noted that the first phase witnessed record voting and minimal violence, adding that he hopes the second phase will follow suit and mark a new, peaceful chapter in West Bengal’s electoral process.

Meanwhile, polling began at 7 a.m. for 142 constituencies across six districts in West Bengal, including its capital, Kolkata, in the second phase of the Assembly polls.

The polling process started with mild tension in certain pockets from the very first hour.

In the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, which is witnessing a battle between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, the Chief Minister's brother, Kartik Banerjee, was cautioned by central forces for assembling near a police station with companions in excess of the permitted number. The central forces cautioned him not to assemble near a polling station with more than four persons at a time.

At Bhawanipur-adjacent Rashbehari constituency, also in South Kolkata, mild tension broke out following allegations that ruling Trinamool Congress activists were not allowing Congress booth agents to enter a particular polling booth. Congress alleged 'hooliganism' in the Rashbehari Assembly constituency by the ruling party activists.

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