Sporadic instances of violence have been reported from West Bengal where poll-related violence has been the norm. Given the extent of polling malpractice in the first two of phases of the election, the deployment of central forces was increased to cover over 90% of the booths.
Despite that, there have been certain instances of violence reported. In Murshidabad, a TMC Councillor’s husband has allegedly suffered injuries in clashes. Trinamool blamed the Congress party and the Communists for it.
#ElectionBreaking – Election violence in Murshidabad in West Bengal. @AITCofficial worker’s kin injured in clashes in Murshidabad. TMC blames @INCIndia and Left for Murshidabad violence. #LokSabhaElections2019 #ElectionsWithNews18 | @Sougata_Mukh with more details pic.twitter.com/hR6TjCeeEl
— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 23, 2019
There have also been reports of booth capturing in certain areas. Party agents are allegedly voting on behalf of people in certain booths.
CPIM party agent is openly voting on behalf of an old women in Jangipur constituency. Fake Voting, Booth Capturing and political violence has become a common practice in West Bengal. @ECISVEEP should act strictly. @DilipGhoshBJP @KailashOnline @SuPriyoBabul #Phase3 #VotingRound3 pic.twitter.com/D0DBFQTZXM
— Rahul Upadhyay (@rahulrajnews) April 23, 2019
Compared to the first two phases of the elections, things appear to be going much better in the third phase. In the first two phases, violence and malpractice were rampant. Allegations were leveled against the Election Commission as well for gross incompetence. Similarly, violence was also reported during the second phase. Recently, an officer of the Election Commission had gone missing as well.
