Murshidabad (West Bengal) [India], April 29 : Congress candidate from West Bengal's Baharampur Assembly constituency, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said on Wednesday that while it is "impossible to expect violence-free elections" in the state's political landscape, the presence of central forces has encouraged a high voter turnout.
Chowdhury hit out at the ruling party, suggesting that the "culture of violence" is part of their election strategy.
"It is impossible to expect elections in Bengal to be free of violence. We expected this from the ruling party's side. Still, people in large numbers are participating in the elections. The common people feel that they will be able to vote because Central Forces have been deployed in large numbers here. Common people are participating in the elections without fear," the Congress leader said.
He further pointed out that the current scale of violence, while concerning, is less intense than what is typically witnessed during state-conducted local polls.
"However, the violence has not reached the levels seen during panchayat or municipal elections. This is because those local elections are held under the leadership of the state government's election commission, whereas these elections are being held under the Election Commission of India. This is the key difference between the two... TMC wanted elections in their own way, and it is TMC's culture (tehzib) to do violence...because election means 'creating violence'," he added.
Chowdhury claimed that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) feels restricted on the actual day of polling due to the central oversight, but warned that the threat remains outside of the voting hours.
"TMC won't be able to do much because they know they won't get an opportunity. Therefore, in Bengal, violence is more prevalent before and after the elections rather than on the day of polling itself," he added.
Meanwhile, West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 61.11 per cent till 1 pm on Wednesday, with polling underway for 142 Assembly seats in the second phase of the state elections.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Hooghly topped the districts with a turnout of 64.57 per cent, followed by Howrah at 60.68 per cent.
Kolkata North recorded 60.18 per cent polling, while Kolkata South registered 57.73 per cent turnout during the same period. Nadia also saw a significant participation, recording a voter turnout of 61.41 per cent till 1 pm.
The main fight in West Bengal is between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, with the second phase seen as the 'litmus test' for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), as voting started in the party's traditional fortresses in South Bengal and Kolkata.
The second phase covers 142 out of 294 seats in West Bengal. The total electorate is around 3.21 crore, with 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 transgender voters. 1,448 candidates are in the fray, including 220 women at 41,001 polling stations, with over 8,000 managed entirely by women.
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