Familiar imagery of a political tinderbox called Bengal is surfacing as the day progresses! News of unrest is arriving from different places of the state. Tension has gripped Nandigram, which is voting today, over the death of a BJP worker.
In Chandipur, Trinamool Congress candidate Soham Chakraborty got worked up like his leader Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on hearing people chant “Jai Sri Ram”. Meanwhile, the AITC activists in the assembly constituency are already looking for an excuse for what appears to be their imminent loss. They complained that all votes were getting cast in favour of the BJP, no matter which button of the EVM was pressed! The Indian electronic voting machine, a standalone unit, requires hacking on a massive scale, involving manipulation of every machine separately, the evidence of which no complainant could ever produce.
Besides Nandigram, the Chandipur assembly constituency in East Midnapore is a centre for political attraction.
Actor-turned-politician Soham, the candidate of the AITC from the seat, has complaines of EVM fraud in booth number 131. “All the votes meant for the Trinamool are getting cast for the BJP! Voters are angry, no matter which button is pressed, the vote is being cast in favour of the BJP,” he said.
Voting at booth 131 in Chandipur was suspended for some time after AITC activists created a ruckus at the polling centre.
Election Commission officials reached the spot as soon as they got an official report of the incident. The EVM machine was tested to find out the truth of the allegation. The EVMs were tested with representatives of political parties of all parties present on the spot. The allegation soon proved false. The situation is normal now. Voting has resumed.
The AITC had made the same allegation during the first phase of West Bengal election. In one booth after another in Medinipur, they complained of “EVM fraud”. AITC activists complained that the EVM had been tampered with. “If you vote for the Trinamool, the vote will be cast for the BJP,” an AITC candidate alleged. Officials of the Election Commission tested the EVM machines in the presence of representatives of all political parties. No problem was detected there either.
There have been reports of sporadic unrest from the four districts of West Bengal that are voting today since the morning of the second round of the ongoing assembly election.
In Chandipur, AITC’s Chakraborty felt heckled near the booth at Mohammad Bazar when greeted with “Jai Sri Ram” slogans. While the locals were sporting outfits of no party, Chakraborty alleged that they were “BJP’s men”. He alleged further that the car of his polling agent had been vandalised. Upon receiving his complaint, central paramilitary forces reached the spot, only to find the complaint bogus.
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