Violence, alleged rigging marks West Bengal bypolls; Opposition demands repoll
KOLKATA: Sporadic violence and instances of alleged rigging by ruling party polling agents marked by-elections at Uluberia Lok Sabha and Noapara Vidhan Sabha constituencies in West Bengal on Monday.
While 76 per cent votes were polled in Uluberia by 5 pm, Noapara polled 75 per cent votes during the same time period. Opposition parties Congress, CPM and BJP demanded re-poll in both the constituencies
alleging rigging by ruling party polling agents.
CPM also alleged that their polling agents were forced out of 391 booths in Uluberia. Demanding repoll, CPM leader Gautam Deb said that the ruling party had ‘looted votes’.
On the other hand, bombs were hurled and a BJP party office was vandalised in BJP-TMC clashes in Gangarampur area of Uluberia constituency.
The by-elections were the testing grounds for both ruling TMC and rapidly emerging opposition BJP with 2018 panchayat elections just a few months away. While the Noapara by-election was a direct fight between powerful local strongmen Mukul Roy of BJP and Arjun Singh of TMC, the fight in Uluberia was primarily between the legacy of TMC MP Sultan Ahmed and the Hindutva agenda of BJP.
The by-elections were necessitated after deaths of Noapara MLA Madhusudhan Ghose of Congress due to cancer at the age of 79 on August 18 last year and of Uluberia MP Sultan Ahmed due to cardiac arrest
at an age of 64 on September 4.