Polling commenced at 7 a.m. on Wednesday for 142 constituencies across six districts in West Bengal, including Kolkata, in the second phase of the Assembly polls. The process started with mild tension in certain areas right from the beginning.
In the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brother, Kartik Banerjee, was cautioned by central forces for gathering near a police station with more people than allowed. Central forces advised him not to assemble near a polling station with more than four persons at a time.
At the Rashbehari constituency adjacent to Bhawanipur, tension arose as Trinamool Congress activists were accused of not allowing Congress booth agents to enter a specific polling booth. Congress alleged ‘hooliganism’ by the ruling party activists at the start of polling in the Rashbehari Assembly constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters in these 142 Assembly constituencies to vote in large numbers through a social media post. He emphasized the importance of women and youth turning out in large numbers to exercise their voting rights.
Tension persisted in Singur, Hooghly district, with the outgoing Trinamool Congress legislator staging a protest against alleged excesses by security forces. In Santipur Assembly constituency, polling at a booth began late due to an EVM malfunction. Mock polling was conducted at all booths before the actual polling process.
