BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya alleged that TMC workers are engaged in bogus voting in Bidhannagar, Siliguri and Asansol during the civil body polls on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI, after casting his vote at Apeejay School, Bidhannagar, Bhattacharya said, "In ward number 31, our candidate caught two voters. Many outsiders were there, people were going for proxy voting. BJP is contesting against three forces TMC hoodlums, Election Commission and West Bengal Police-Administration."
He further alleged that the intimidation is going on since last night in the area of Rajarhat Gopalpur.
"Deepa Naskar, who is our candidate of ward no 25 this morning, was thrown out of the booth and was not allowed to participate in the mock poll. Stone was pelted on Sadhana Dhali, our woman candidate from ward number 26 and her house was demolished. In Ravindra Palli, the polling booth was captured in ward number 23. In Asansol also five-six wards have intervened so far," he alleged.
The BJP leader further said that we have demanded Central forces for a free and fair election but the order was denied.
"With this election commission and administration, the polls cannot happen in a fair manner in the state.
Voting is underway in all four municipal corporations Siliguri, Bidhannagar, Chandannagar, and Asansol on Saturday with COVID-19 protocols in place.
Voting was started at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm. The counting will be held on February 14.
The heavy police force has been deployed at every polling booth, polling is being conducted with tight security.
Naka checking is also going on and patrolling is also being done in the river by boat. Many policemen have been deployed during the elections.
The civic polls were earlier slated to be held on January 22, 2022. However, the High Court has postponed the elections for 4-6 weeks, citing that the third wave of COVID-19 has hit the state and that the life of the residents of the state will be put to threat if the elections are held.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor