The repoll in the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal on Thursday saw a voter turnout of over 60 per cent till 1 pm, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, a poll panel official said.
The polling, which commenced at 7 am, is being held after the Election Commission ordered a re-poll citing “severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process” during voting on April 29 in the second phase of the Assembly elections.
A total of 2.36 lakh electors -- 1,21,300 men, 1,15,135 women and nine third gender individuals -- are eligible to exercise their franchise in the repoll, which started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
The Election Commission doubled the security arrangements for the repoll after the April 29 polling in the seat was countermanded over allegations of large-scale EVM tampering.
Around 35 companies of the central forces are manning the 285 polling booths to ensure smooth voting.
Additionally, 30 Quick Response Teams are on standby to respond swiftly to any disturbance.
"Polling has remained peaceful in Falta. We have not received a single report of any problem from anywhere in the constituency. Till 1 pm, 60.43 per cent of polling has been registered," the poll panel official told PTI.
A large number of voters were seen queuing outside the 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency since early morning.
A total of six candidates are in the fray, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) nominee Jahangir Khan, who announced his withdrawal from the contest on Tuesday. However, his name remains on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) as he could not formally withdraw his candidature.
Other candidates include the BJP’s Debangshu Panda, CPI(M)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi and the Congress’ Abdur Razzak Molla.
Officials said 35 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been deployed for the re-poll, with eight personnel, equivalent to one full section, stationed at each booth. During the April 29 polling, only four personnel, or half a section, had been deployed per booth.
Political tensions remained high in the constituency since polling on April 29, when complaints surfaced from multiple booths alleging that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs, which ultimately led to the countermanding of the polls.
Former Special Observer of the Election Commission Subrata Gupta had visited the constituency and conducted a scrutiny, following which evidence of alleged tampering was detected in at least 60 booths.
Authorities also found attempts to tamper with footage recorded by web cameras installed at several polling stations, raising questions over the role of booth-level officers, presiding officers, polling personnel and election observers.
The TMC has retained the Falta seat since 2001, except in the 2006 Assembly election, when the CPI(M) won the constituency.
(With inputs from PTI)
