Violence mars last phase voting in West Bengal, BJP candidate's car attacked

West Bengal continued to witness poll violence in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections with the BJP accusing the TMC workers of attacking its polling agents and stopping people from casting their votes. In Jadavapur, BJP candidate Anupam Hazra alleged that TMC “goons” attacked their mandal president and were planning to carry out rigging at 52 polling booths of the constituency.

“TMC goons have beaten up a BJP mandal president, a driver and attacked a car. We also rescued our 3 polling agents. TMC goons were going to carry out rigging at 52 booths. People are eager to vote for BJP but they are not allowing them to vote” Hazra was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.

Similar reports came from Basirhat where voters held protest outside a polling booth after TMC workers allegedly stopped them from casting their votes. "100 people were stopped from voting. We will take them to cast their vote," Sayantan Basu, BJP candidate from the constituency, said.

According to reports, bombs were hurled near two polling booths in Kolkata's Rabindra Sarani. The bombs were thrown near both number 23 and 41 and the accused fled the scene. After the incident, security forces arrived at the spot. In another violent incident, media was attacked in Madaripur constituency, in which one person sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, the TMC has written to the Election Commission and raised its objection against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath visit. The ruling party in West Bengal alleged that the prime minister’s visit to the holy shrine was “unethical” and a clear violation of Model Code of Conduct.

“Even though the Election campaign for the last phase of polling for 2019 Lok Sabha is over as long as back on May 17 at 6 pm, surprisingly Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath Yatra is being covered and widely televised for the last two days in all national as well as local media. This is a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O’Brien said in the letter.

Violence has been reported during all the six phases of the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, where the BJP is trying to make inroads and fighting an intense battle against Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. BJP president Amit Shah had alleged that TMC was behind the poll violence in the state, a charge firmly denied by the state’s ruling party.