West Bengal Election 2021 updates: Mamata misleading people on COVID vaccination, says JP Nadda

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Mamata Banerjee shows victory symbol after casting her vote in Kolkata

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee shows victory symbol after she cast her vote at a polling station in Kolkata#WestBengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/AAAJzJQMtP

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Over 67% of votes polled till 3:30 pm

As per the Election Commission’s Voter turnout application, 67.27 percent of voter turnout has been recorded till 3.31 pm in the seventh phase of West Bengal assembly elections.

Here is the district-wise voter turnout till 3:30 pm:

• South Dinajpur 72.58%
• Malda 70.14%
• Murshidabad 72.66%
• West Burdwan 62.42%
• South Kolkata 52.97%

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

BJP candidate’s agent detained for molesting women voters in Kolkata

BJP candidate from the Rashbehari assembly constituency Lt Gen Subrata Saha’s agent was detained on Monday for allegedly molesting a few women voters inside a polling booth in the city’s New Alipore area, police said.

Mohan Rao was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said.

“We have received a complaint in this regard and a probe is underway,” he said.

Rao, however, rubbished the allegations and said no such incident had taken place.

“TMC activists are trying to create disturbance in the area. This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt the peaceful polling process,” Saha said. 

-PTI

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Mamata failed as CM to provide clean drinking water, tweets BJP’s Amit Malviya

As Mamata Banerjee steps out to vote in Bhowanipore, it should serve a reminder to the people of a failed CM, who despite being in power for 10 yrs failed to provide clean drinking water to the women of WB, jobs to the youth of WB and only indulged in brazen minority appeasement.

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 26, 2021

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JP Nadda accuses Mamata of misleading people on COVID vaccination

BJP president JP Nadda on Monday accused Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee of misleading people of West Bengal on various issues, ranging from “insider-outsider” to Covid vaccination during the campaigning for the assembly elections in the state, reports PTI

Nadda also asserted his party had upheld the culture and legacy of Bengal as against the insulting language adopted by Banerjee against the BJP leadership.

“During the campaign for the eight-phase elections, which comes to an end on Monday, Mamata Banerjee has made all efforts to mislead the people of Bengal and to instigate them using issues like insider-outsider and culture,” he said addressing a virtual public meeting here.

The last phase of polling will be held on April 29 and the counting is scheduled for 2 May.

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West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

BJP’s Baranagar candidate tests COVID positive

Parno Mitra, BJP candidate from Baranagar in North 24 Parganas, tested positive for COVID-19, The Times of India reported.

Earlier, BJP’s Tollygunge candidate Babul Supriyo, CPM’s Jadavpur nominee Sujan Chakraborty and TMC’s Kamarhati candidate Madan Mitra are among the leaders who were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Three candidates have also died of COVID-19 in the state, while the elections are underway.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

55.12% voting recorded till 2.45 pm

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 55.12 percent polling was recorded till 2.45 pm in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 58.96 percent

Kolkata South – 41.69 percent

Malda – 58.16 percent

Murshidabad – 60.53 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 50.78 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

EC transfers more police officers in Bengal

The Election Commission transferred a few police officers as West Bengal voted in the seventh phase of assembly polls on Monday, officials said. Shantanu Sinha Biswas, an inspector at the Directorate of Economic Offences, was transferred to the office of the DIG Jalpaiguri Range as a crime inspector, they said.

Sinha was accused by the BJP of manipulating postal ballots. Srimanta Kumar Bandopadhyay, the Assistant Commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur Police, was named the new Sub-divisional Police Officer of Bolpur, as per an order issued on Sunday night.

Shubhendra Kumar, the present SDPO of Bolpur, was diagnosed with COVID-19. Nihar Ranjan Roy, the circle inspector of Krishnaganj in Krishnanagar police district, was made the new inspector incharge of the Murshidabad police station, replacing Atish Das, the order said.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

A voter died at Domkal in Murshidabad due to the heat wave, The Times of India reported.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Stray violence marks first half of seventh phase of polling

Stray incidents of violence were reported from some areas where voting is underway for the seventh phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal.

A few incidents of scuffle were reported from the Asansol area, where TMC candidate Sayoni Ghosh claimed that BJP activists tried to jam booths in her constituency. The allegation was dubbed as baseless by BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul, who asserted, “Ghosh is making excuses sensing defeat”.

Meanwhile, there was commotion in Rash Behari constituency after BJP candidate Lt Gen (retd) Subrata Saha’s agent was accused of molesting women voters inside a polling booth, police said. Mohan Rao was detained after several women voters claimed he tried to drag them holding their hands inside Bidya Bharati School, a police officer said. Rao, however, rubbished the allegations and said no such incident had taken place.

In the Jamuria constituency, Left Front candidate Aishe Ghosh alleged that her party agents were stopped from entering the booth by TMC workers, a charge denied by the ruling party.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

46.32% voting recorded till 1.15 pm

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 46.32 percent polling was recorded till 1.15 pm in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 39.7 percent

Kolkata South – 38.54 percent

Malda – 55.8 percent

Murshidabad – 60.53 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 40.53 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

CPM leader, who had defeated Mamata Banerjee, blames TMC chief for RSS’s rise in Bengal

Former CPM MP Malini Bhattacharya, who had handed chief minister Mamata Banerjee,her sole electoral defeat in 1989, does not feel the TMC supremo is the face of the resistance to BJP, and believes her rule facilitated the rise of RSS in the state.

Bhattacharya, a leading academic, maintains Banerjee retains “close relations with the RSS even today while indulging in slanging matches with the BJP leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Disagreeing that there is any pro-BJP wave in West Bengal, the former academic, blames the rise of the saffron party primarily due to anti-incumbency against the TMC. Bhattacharya was fielded by CPM in 1989 against Banerjee who had in the previous general election burst on the political scene by emerging as a giant slayer by defeating prominent CPM leader Somenath Chatterjee from Jadavpur, considered a Communist bastion for long.

The Jadavpur University professor managed to topple Banerjee and win the seat back for the CPM, just four years after the major upset. She won the Lok Sabha seat a second time running in 1991, and was dubbed `slayer of the giant slayer’ by the media for her efforts.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

37.72% voting recorded till 12.50 pm

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 37.72 percent polling was recorded till 12.50 pm in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 39.7 percent

Kolkata South – 27.54 percent

Malda – 39.96 percent

Murshidabad – 42.41 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 34.4 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Ex-CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to not cast vote

Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will not cast his vote today, days after he was discharged from Bellevue Clinic where he was undergoing treatment after complaints of severe shortness of breath.

He had also been hospitalised in December.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

37.72% voting recorded till 11.50 am

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 37.72 percent polling was recorded till 11.40 am in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 39.7 percent

Kolkata South – 27.54 percent

Malda – 39.96 percent

Murshidabad – 42.41 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 34.4 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

All 220 voters of Murshidabad booth no 29 boycott polling

All 220 voters of polling booth no 29 in Lalgola constituency of Murshidabad district have boycotted voting because of the poor condition of roads and solar lights not being placed in their area, India Today reported.

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TMC candidate alleges being pushed out of polling booth

Trinamool Congress candidate from Rashbehari (Kolkata) Debashis Kumar alleged that he was not allowed to enter many polling booths by central forces, The Times of India reported.

Meanwhile, two BJP polling agents entered a booth in Ballygunge, while the party workers threatened locals and barred the way to a polling booth in Harishchandrapur, according to India Today. Reports also claimed the CRPF was obstructing voters ar polling booths in Gangarampur and Asansol Uttar.

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BJP polling agent alleges being pushed out of Malda booth

A BJP polling agent Sankar Sakar alleges he was pushed out of Booth 91 by TMC members and was made to leave the spot in Bakhra village of Ratua, Malda. A TMC member told ANI, “He is not a voter here so we asked him to leave respectfully. Nobody threatened him.”

#WATCH | WB: A BJP polling agent Sankar Sakar alleges he was forcefully pushed out of booth no.91 by TMC members and made to leave the spot in Bakhra village of Ratua, Malda. A TMC member says, "He is not a voter here so we asked him to leave respectfully. Nobody threatened him." pic.twitter.com/7JVcwahuGm

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

TMC, BJP look to retain strongholds in Kolkata Port, Asansol Uttar

Among the constituencies that went to vote today is Kolkata Port, considered a TMC stronghold, which was won by state Cabinet minister Firhad Hakim with a vote share of 53 percent in the 2016 Assembly polls.

The TMC, which bettered its record by garnering 57 per cent votes in the Assembly segment in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, hopes to continue its winning streak in the three-cornered contest. Hakim will face Awadh Kishore Gupta of the BJP and the CPM-Congress-ISF combine’s Mohammed Mukhtar in the seventh phase of polls. Over 40 percent of the 2,35,854 electorate in the constituency are Hindi-speaking minority voters, and a majority of them swear by their “ghar ka ladka” (family member) Hakim as custodian.

Asansol Uttar, on the other hand, is a seat where the BJP had garnered nearly 20,000 more votes than the TMC in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party looks to capture the sizeable population of non-Bengali voters in the constituency, where key leaders of the TMC from the region deserted the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

17.95% voting recorded till 10.40 am

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 17.95 percent polling was recorded till 9.45 am in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 18.77 percent

Kolkata South – 13.07 percent

Malda – 18.87 percent

Murshidabad – 19.53 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 17.24 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

BJP candidate alleges election code violation by TMC polling agent

BJP candidate from Asansol Dakshin constituency Agnimitra Paul alleged that a Trinamool Congress polling agent was wearing a cap with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s photo on it, at polling booth in Baktarnagar High School.

Paul told ANI that the presiding officer said he was unwell and didn’t see the cap. “EC has said that you can’t wear anything that has your party’s symbol or a political leader’s picture. This is Mamata Banerjee’s trick. She knows people won’t vote for her. Her time is up,” she told ANI.

WB: Agnimitra Paul, BJP candidate from Asansol Dakshin Assembly constituency in Paschim Bardhaman says that TMC polling agent was wearing a cap with CM's photo on it, at polling booth in Baktarnagar High School.

She says, "Presiding officer says that he's unwell & didn't see it" pic.twitter.com/bkhZtqvDjc

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

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Split of minority votes may dent Congress’ electoral share in Murishidabad

In the Muslim-majority Murshidabad, Congress has been getting a chunk of minority votes, apart from the neighbouring Malda. Even though the party, which is contesting polls in alliance with the Left Front, is expected to perform well in its stronghold, a split in minority votes may turn around the fortunes in the Assembly constituency.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

17.95% voting recorded till 9.45 am

According to figures from the Voter Turnout mobile application, 17.95 percent polling was recorded till 9.45 am in 34 assembly seats. Following is the district-wise voter turnout:

Dakshin Dinajpur – 18.77 percent

Kolkata South – 13.07 percent

Malda – 18.87 percent

Murshidabad – 19.53 percent

Paschim Bardhaman – 17.24 percent

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Full list of 34 Assembly seats that are voting today

Voting will be held at 12,068 polling stations spread over nine assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman districts, six each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda and four in Kolkata.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

TMC’s Nusrat Jahan casts vote at Kolkata polling booth

TMC MP Nusrat Jahan cast her vote during the seventh phase of polling in West Bengal. “Why was the Election Commission sleeping all this while? Only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided he won’t hold any public meetings, the EC decided to call off all public meetings. It listens to the prime minister and home minister more than anyone else,” she told ANI.

TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi and her parents cast vote at a polling booth in Kolkata, for the seventh phase of #WestBengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/xmkkjbw0Gd

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Documents to use if you don’t have Voter ID

Here’s a list of documents that voters can use instead of a Voter ID card as a photo identity proof to cast vote:

1. Passport
2. Driving licence
3. Service identity card of the state government or the central government
4. PAN card
5. Aadhar card
6. Passbook issued by bank or post office
7. MGNREGA job card
8. Health insurance card issued by the Ministry of Labour
9. Pension document with a photograph
10. Authenticated photo voter slip issued by the Election Commission
11. Public limited companies
12. Passbooks issued by banks or post office
13. Pension document with photograph and official identity cards issued to MPs, MLAs and MLCs.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee casts vote in Kolkata

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote at Mitra Institution in Bhowanipore, Kolkata. He told ANI, “I am extremely confident that Mamata Banerjee will be back with two-thirds majority.” He also hit out at the Election Commission for not clubbing poll phases “to benefit a party”.

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote for 7th phase of #WestBengalElections at Mitra Institution in Bhowanipore, Kolkata. He says, "Extremely confident that Mamata Banerjee will be back with 2/3rd majority...People are dying but EC is conducting 8-phase polls to benefit a party" pic.twitter.com/KOL3QfQc7J

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Keenly-watched contests in Asansol South, Jamuria seats

The battle in the Asansol South seat where Tollywood actor Saayoni Ghosh fielded by TMC will lock horns with fashion designer Agnimitra Paul who is contesting on a BJP ticket is to be watched out for. TMC’s Tapas Banerjee had won from the constituency in 2011 and 2016.

The Jamuria seat in Paschim Bardhaman will also witness an interesting battle as the Left-Congress-ISF alliance has fielded CPM face and JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh from the traditional Left stronghold.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay casts vote in Kolkata

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Bhowanipore, cast his vote in the 7th phase of polling today. He is contesting from the seat, where the sitting MLA is Mamata Banerjee, after the chief minister left her seat to contest protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.

He told ANI, “People will vote for Mamata Banerjee, her projects, her development has reached all homes. This election is being held on those issues. I have been in politics since 1962. This is the first time I am voting for myself.”

Kolkata: TMC candidate from Bhowanipore constituency, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay cast his vote for the seventh phase of #WestBengalPolls, at the polling booth at Manmatha Nath Nandan Boys And Girls School. CM Mamata Banerjee is the sitting MLA from the constituency. pic.twitter.com/fn4qPuYVhR

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

How to find your name in voters’ list, locate polling booth

Through the online method

Log on to the Chief Electoral Officer’s website of the respective state or UT and click on the Electoral Roll option
The electoral roll is available in English, Hindi and the state’s language
Click on Main Roll
Select your Assembly Constituency based on the part of the city you reside in (or the address mentioned in the documents submitted during registration)
Select the exact area of the constituency or Part Number depending on your residence (or your registered address falls)
Fill out the Captcha code and click on submit
Click on the PDF link delivered after the search and scan for your name from the list arranged in alphabetical order
Through landline/mobile phones

Through SMS

SMS space to 1950 (EPIC stands for Electors Photo Identity Card also commonly known as a Voter ID card). Example – If your EPIC is 12345678 then SMS ECI 12345678 to 1950

Through mobile app

Android users can download the mobile application from Google Play Store
iPhone users may visit the App Store and search for voter helpline.

The voter helpline number 1950 will also help voters locate polling booth. You can call this number after adding the STD code (011 in this case) or get the details by sending an SMS to 1950 with space .

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Security deployment strengthened following Cooch Behar violence

Security measures have been heightened in view of the violence in the previous phases, particularly the death of five people in Cooch Behar on 10 April, an Election Commission official said.

The poll panel has deployed at least 796 companies of central forces in the seventh phase to ensure free and fair voting, he said. It has also put in place measures to ensure strict adherence to health protocols during the election process, including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

284 candidates in fray in 7th phase

Over 86 lakh voters will decide the political fate of 284 candidates in this phase. Voting is being held at 12,068 polling stations spread over nine assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman districts, six each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda and four in Kolkata, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s home turf Bhabanipore.

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Derek O’Brien hits out at conduct of polling across phases despite COVID

TMC MP Derek O’Brien took to Twitter, hitting out at the decision to not club the remaining phases of the West Bengal elections. He pointed out that three candidates lost their lives to COVID and lakhs of voters and poll workers have already been exposed to the virus.

2 phases still to go for polls in Bengal.

5 days still remain.

3 candidates dead.

Lakhs of voters and poll workers exposed to Covid.

71 seats.

The two Election Commissioners under the command of the duo MO-SHA have ignored multiple suggestions to club phases. pic.twitter.com/iz1LlxwUBc

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) April 25, 2021

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Polling in 34 seats begins

Voting commenced in 34 seats in the seventh phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal.

People cast their votes for the seventh phase of #WestBengalElections2021 today. Visuals from Samsi Primary School - designated as booth number 142/142 A - in Ratua constituency of Malda district. pic.twitter.com/IhLUl6j147

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2021

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Narendra Modi urges people to follow COVID protocols while voting

Taking to Twitter ahead of the commencement of polling for the seventh phase of elections in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to exercise their franchise while following COVID-19 protocols.

Amid a surge in cases and an Election Commission direction to hold rallies with less than 500 people in attendance, Modi had cancelled his public address in West Bengal on 23 April.

The seventh phase of the West Bengal elections takes place today. Urging people to exercise their franchise and follow all COVID-19 related protocols.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2021

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Parties cancel rallies amid COVID surge

Following the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, the EC has banned road shows and vehicle rallies in the state with immediate effect. It also noted that COVID safety norms were being flouted in West Bengal during campaigning.

It also disallowed any public meeting with more than 500 people.

Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is the party MP, cancelled all their scheduled rallies and held them on the virtual platform as did Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 April.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

All eyes on Bhabanipore Assembly seat in 7th phase

The focus in this phase of polling will be on seats in the southern part of the city, mainly Bhabanipore which is the stronghold of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She nominated one of her senior most party leaders Sovandeb Chattopadhyay from Bhabanipore. BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh from the seat.

From Rashbehari the saffron party has named Lt Gen (Dr) Subrata Saha against TMC’s Debasish Kumar. The state minister and city mayor Firhad Hakim will test his luck from Kolkata Port constituency where he will lock horns with BJP’s Awadh Kishore Gupta and Congress’ Mohammed Mukhtar.

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Polling declared void in two constituencies

Polling for two Assembly seats in Samserganj and Jangipur has been declared void following the deaths of two candidates there.

The Election Commission has fixed 16 May for the polling in these two seats.

West Bengal Election LATEST Updates

Voting to be held across 34 seats in 5 districts

The seventh phase of polling in the West Bengal Assembly election will be held today (26 April) amid tight security arrangements and COVID-19 safety protocols.

A total of 86,78,221 voters — 44,44,634 male and 42,33,358 women and 229 from the third gender — are eligible to exercise their franchise in the 34 constituencies spread across Malda (Part I), Kolkata Dakshin, Murshidabad (Part I), Paschim Bardhaman (Part 1) and Dakshin Dinajpur districts.