Mitra Institution, the polling booth where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her family cast their votes from, saw a muted voter turnout during the opening hours of the by-election on Thursday. However, the mood among the voters were to “welcome their daughter”.
Till 11am, the voting percentage in Bhabanipur bypolls stood at is 21.73, amid tight security.
Trinamool Congress chief Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek are expected to arrive at the booth to cast their votes in the afternoon.
ALSO READ | Second Time’s The Charm? Mamata Pins Hope on Bhabanipur, Her Face-Saver Since Its Formation in 2011
Enthusiastic voters were seen in a queue in Mitra Institution, a state high school, early in the morning. Sujata Das and her daughter Dipti, neighbours of Trinamool Congress supremo, were among the many voters waiting to exercise their franchise.
“The first thing to do in the morning is to come and cast my vote. For us, ‘didi’ (Banerjee) is not just the Chief Minister, but she is our ‘didi’ (elder sister),” said Dipti, while Sujata added that they have “seen her grow up” and their vote “is for India”.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, who is taking on Bengal CM Banerjee, also visited the booth on Thursday. Later she alleged that TMC MLA Madan Mitra “shut an EVM to capture” a booth in Bhabanipur.
The Election Commission has taken note of her complaint and asked the administration to look into the matter.
Meanwhile, responding to Tibrewal’s accusation, Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said, “All these are excuses. They will lose and that’s why they are saying all this.”
On the other hand, Left candidate Srijib Biswas, urged the poll body to ensure that “there is no ghost voting”.
Polling began at 7 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhabanipur seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies amid tight security and stringent COVID-19 measures, officials said. The by-polls are being held in south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and IPL 2022 Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment