The National Electoral Commission announced on Sunday that re-voting will take place on July 10 at 697 polling stations where rural election votes have been declared invalid
Post Date – 11:22 PM, Sun – July 9
Calcutta: As sporadic protests and post-voting violence continue to plague West Bengal, the National Election Commission announced on Sunday that re-voting will be held on July 10 at 697 polling stations that have declared rural election votes invalid.
In Saturday’s violent senate vote, people cast ballots at 61,636 polling stations for 206,000 candidates vying for 73,887 seats in the state’s three-tier senate system.
The order was passed after the Securities and Exchange Commission held a meeting Sunday night to review reports of ballot tampering and acts of violence affecting voting in many places, an official said.
He told PTI that at least four Central Police Force personnel will be stationed at each polling station where re-voting has been ordered.
Among the areas where re-voting was announced, Murshidabad had the highest number of polling stations with 174, followed by Marda with 110.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Governor-General Ananda Bose flew to New Delhi on Sunday, where he is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and present a report on violence during the Senate elections.
Protests took place in different parts of West Bengal on Sunday over the violence that rocked the Panchayat election and allegations of irregularities.
One man was found dead and two others died of their injuries at South 24 Parganas on Sunday morning, officials said, bringing the death toll from the violence to 15.
Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party demonstrate outside the offices of the National Election Commission in Kolkata. Security was heightened in the area, with protesters chanting slogans against the SEC and accusing polling groups of being “incapable” of conducting the election peacefully.
In Purba, Medinipur district, BJP operatives blocked the Haldia-Mecheda State Highway in Kumar, Nanda, claiming that ballot boxes at the counting center at Sri Krishnapur High School were tampered with .
“We received information around 3am that the ballot boxes are being replaced. We are asking all polling stations in the area under the protection of the Central Forces to retake the polls, except for the counting of votes at the polling stations themselves,” said Tamruk People of India said Tamas Dinda, leader of the party’s youth wing.
Nandakumar Police Superintendent Manoj Kumar Jha told PTI that as the situation escalated, officers swung batons at protesters to control the situation.
Congress workers blocked State Highway 12 in the Rathbari area of Malda to protest violence during Saturday’s poll.
“We took to the streets to protest the violence on Saturday. We will also go to the courts,” said Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, a congressman.
In the Harishchandrapur area of the district, a police vehicle in which a deputy police chief was traveling home late Saturday night was vandalized and the officer was injured.
Police suspect outlaws from the interstate border state of Bihar to be behind the incident, officials said.
In northern Dinajpur, protests in the Chakuliya police station area turned violent, with two vehicles set on fire and several vehicles, including a state-run bus, vandalized.
Congress workers staged a similar protest in Berdanga, Murshdabad district, alleging that supporters of the ruling TMC were intimidating voters during polls and conducting fake votes with impunity.
Violence was also reported in the Samserganj area of the region, where two groups clashed with improvised bombs.
Clashes broke out between ISF and TMC supporters in Amdanga, North 24 Parganas. Crude bombs were dropped during the clashes.
In South 24 Parganas district, three policemen were injured while trying to control clashes between TMC and Congress supporters. Police said the incident happened in Nainan, Magrahat Police Station area.
Clashes were also reported in the district’s Kulpi district, where supporters of an independent candidate clashed with TMC workers in the village of Udairampur. Later, when police arrived in the area, the women protested with sticks.
