Clashes During and After Polls in West Midnapore

Within a day after polling started in West Bengal violence started as there were clashes in Maoist-affected Jhargram.
Clashes During and After Polls in West Midnapore

Within a day after polling started in West Bengal violence started as there were clashes in Maoist-affected Jhargram in West Midnapore on Tuesday.

Two CPI(M) workers were critically injured as they were allegedly attacked by ruling Trinamool Congress workers after polling ended on Monday amidst tension.

The Election Commission directed central paramilitary forces to rush to Suknator in Shalboni where clashes broke out.

Protesting the violence and the inaction of the central paramilitary forces, the opposition parties, including the CPI(M), on Tuesday staged a sit-in demonstration in front of the Election Commission office in Kolkata. 

CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb alleged, “There is a mole of the TMC in this office and like the last Lok Sabha polls, the EC here is not taking action despite knowing about rigging by the ruling party.

“Our polling booth agents are being attacked and police are influencing voters. It’s being telecast by television channels how police were inside booths and casting votes instead of voters. There were TMC workers too inside the booths and forcing voters to cast votes for their party,” he alleged.

The first phase of polling in 18 Ass­embly seats started on Monday and six more phases for 294 constituencies will be held till May 5.

Stating that law and order in West Bengal had completely broken down, former Union Minister of State for Home and AICC spokesperson RPN Singh said Congress and CPI(M) had joined hands to “protect the secular fabric” of the state.

“Law and order in West Bengal has completely broken down. There is no security for women either in Kolkata or in any part of the state... secular ideas also not being protec­ted,” Singh told newspersons at the Congress office in Kolkata. Alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state and the BJP at the Centre were “working in tandem”, he said, “TMC is working as a B-team of BJP. It supports BJP on some Bills and here in the state acts like it’s against them... But they are working in tandem. 

Meanwhile, continuing her attack on the Congress for working with the Left for the elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the people to bring in a change in Murshiadabad district, the stronghold of state Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Stating that 55,000 Congress workers were killed by CPI(M), she said, “Congress leaders have sold them out to CPI(M). They should be ashamed. They have become Cong-red,” she said. 

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