Polling percentage in Bengal impressive at 32.82 pc in first four hours

Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) With complaints of poll-related irregularities continuing to flood the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal, the average poll percentage in four Lok Sabha constituencies in the third phase on Monday has been an impressive 32.82 per cent in the first four hours till 11 a.m.

At 33.81 per cent, the maximum polling has been recorded at Jangipur, followed by 33.09 per cent at Maldaha-Dakshin, 32.72 per cent at Murshidabad and 31.73 per cent at Maldaha-Uttar.

In the first four hours, a total of 298 complaints have been registered with the office of the CEO, out of which 194 are from different political parties.

The maximum complaints have been received from the CPI(M) at 134, while the Congress had filed 17 complaints and six have been registered by the Trinamool Congress and BJP each.

One of the major complaints is relating to irregular appointments of Presiding Officers at different booths in Murshidabad District, where headmistresses of some schools have been appointed as Presiding Officers for election booths within the school premises. These allegations have been raised by the BJP.

Trinamool Congress has complained that at a particular election booth at Mothabari area in Maldaha-Dakshin constituency, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were allegedly influencing the voters.

Since the beginning of polls on Tuesday morning the CPI(M) Politburo and the party’s Secretary in West Bengal, Mohd Salim, who is the party candidate from Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency, had been running from one booth to another trying to address the complaints of the booth agents there.

At two booths since morning, Salim personally spotted imposters who were posing as the CPI(M)’s booth agents using forged documents. In both cases, they were sent out of the booths, following which the genuine party agents entered.