West Bengal municipal elections: Bombs hurled at polling booth in South 24 Parganas’s Pujali; Top developments

The West Bengal municipality election marks the first time the BJP and Trinamool Congress will face off in local body polls.

Written by: Rini Sharma

Updated: May 14, 2017, 4:02 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/india/west-bengal-municipal-elections-bombs-hurled-at-polling-booth-in-south-24-parganass-pujali-top-developments-2130893/ Copy

West Bengal Municipal Elections (ANI)

Kolkata, May 14: Bombs were hurled at polling booths in South 24 Parganas’s Pujali as the voting for the West Bengal municipal elections is underway in the state. According to a report, a motorcycle-borne gang of 30-40 masked men, chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, were involved in the incident. Polling is being held in the seven civic bodies of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mirik Notified Area Authority in the Hills besides Domkal in Murshidabad, Pujali in South 24-Parganas, and Raiganj in North Dinajpur.

Here are the top developments:

• A group of masked men hurled bombs at polling booths in South 24 Parganas’s Pujali in West Bengal on Sunday morning. The incident triggered panic among the masses.
• Following the incident, there were reports that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at these polling booths were also damaged by the group of 30-40 masked men.
• Taking cognizance of the matter, a team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in the region however, the situation still remains tense.
• West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury instructed the 10 candidates in Domkal to withdraw from the polls after alleging heavy firing, booth rigging and violence by the ruling TMC in the region.
• Chowdhury alleged that Congress polling agents were driven out of the polling booths in Domkal by TMC activists. The fight, in the 21-member Domkol municipality, is between the Trinamool Congress and Congress-CPI(M) alliance.
• Meanwhile, senior CPI(M) leader of Murshidabad district Anisur Rehman has also alleged violence but, Murshidabad district Trinamool Congress leaders have denied the allegations.
• So far there are no reports of major violence in the four municipalities in the hills of North Bengal – Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik — in Darjeeling district and Kalimpong district.

The West Bengal municipality election marks the first time the BJP and Trinamool Congress will face off in local body polls. Notably, the BJP excelled in the previous Assembly bypolls in the state.

Major parties like the BJP, Congress and TMC are in fray for local body polls. Other parties include Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Jana Andolan Party (JAP), and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM).

Counting of the votes will take place on May 17.