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Phase 5 of Elections in West Bengal again sees violence, rigging and polling malpractices

OpIndia Staff
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Phase 5 of Elections in West Bengal again sees violence, rigging and polling malpractices

West Bengal had witnessed significant poll violence in the first four phases of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Instances of rigging, too, have been reported from the state. In Hooghly, TMC leader was seen pressing the EVM button for multiple voters at Naskarpur village in Hooghly constituency.


The BJP candidate from Hooghly, Locket Chatterjee, got into an argument with TMC supporters in Dhonekhali area of the constituency.


Voters in Bongaon, meanwhile, are claiming that Trinamool cadres are not allowing them to vote.


Earlier today BJP candidate from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, was reportedly attacked by goons associated with the Trinamool Congress. BJP District President in Hooghly, Pranab Mondal Saha, has alleged that he was thrashed by Trinamool goons while he was on his way to meet a fellow member of the party Khokon Biswas. Hooghly appears to be witnessing many such incidents. In the days leading up to the elections, a residence Locket Chatterjee was lodged at was allegedly attacked by Trinamool goons as well.

Rigging has also been reported in many other areas. The Trinamool Congress is rattled by the saffron surge in the state. Recently, Mamata Banerjee was seen losing her mind over chants of Jai Shri Ram. Regardless of the results of the elections, the 2019 General Elections is turning out to be a dark phase in the history of Bengal politics.

Amethi: Voter claims polling officer forcefully made her vote for Congress, Smriti Irani asks the EC to intervene

OpIndia Staff
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Amethi: Voter claims polling officer forcefully made her vote for Congress, Smriti Irani asks the EC to intervene

A shocking video has emerged where a voter is alleging that the polling officer forcefully pressed the Congress symbol on the EVM when she wanted to press on the BJP symbol.


In the video, the lady is heard repeatedly saying that Congress workers held her hand forcefully and pressed the ‘Panja’ (the symbol of the ‘palm’ representing the Congress) button on the EVM machine, instead of that of the ‘Kamal’ (the Lotus representing BJP) which she intended to press.

Union Minister and BJP candidate for Amethi Smriti Irani has urged the Election Commission to take action against this. She took to Twitter to accuse Congress President Rahul Gandhi of indulging in booth capturing.


Amethi was one of the most talked about constituencies in the run-up to the ongoing elections, as it is being contested by high profile candidates like Smriti Irani and the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi himself.

Amethi is one of the high profile seats which has gone to polls today along with Rae Bareli and Lucknow.

Congress leader and former Punjab CM slaps a youth for asking questions

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader and former Punjab CM slaps a youth for asking questions

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former CM in the state of Punjab, slapped a young man yesterday at the Bussehra village during a public event. As per reports, former CM  Bibi Rajinder Kaur Bhattal was campaigning for Congress candidate for Sangrur Lok Sabha seat Kewal Singh Dhillon yesterday in the Lehragaga area when the incident occurred.


As per reports, a youth named Kuldeep Singh approached Bhattal during the election rally and asked her what has she done for the village in the 25 years that she was an MLA in the area. Local Congress leaders reportedly tried to stop Kuldeep but when he did not budge and continued, Rajinder Kaur slapped him.

Seeing the situation getting out of her hand and people opposing her behaviour, Bhattal reportedly got inside her vehicle after slapping Kuldeep and fled from the area.

Kuldeep, who holds a masters degree in Engineering, reportedly stated that Bhattal ruled the area for more than 20 years but has done nothing. He added that there is no proper sewage system in the village and the canal never gets water. He said that he posed these questions to her but Kaur was not ready to listen so she slapped him.

Bhattal, however, denies slapping the man despite video evidence. She had added that the AAP is trying to create chaos and disrupt Congress rallies in the area. She has added that there were so many people who wanted to ask questions but Kuldeep only wanted to create chaos. She has further added that the people should ask questions to AAP’s Bhagwant Mann and Akali Dal’s Parminder Singh Dhindsa who have also ruled in the area.

As per reports, hundreds of sugarcane farmers had blocked the Bathinda-Chandigarh road demanding clearance of dues of rover rs 75 crores. The farmers have reportedly opposed the elections rallies of Kewal Singh Dhillon in Ubhawal and other villages in the area.

AAP leader Bhagwant Mann has condemned the incident and has stated that political leaders must answer questions from the people.

Violence reported in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, 38 polling officials airlifted

OpIndia Staff
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Violence reported in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, 38 polling officials airlifted

As Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian and Pulwama districts vote in its third and final leg of polling in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency today, incidents of sporadic violence are being reported from these areas, beginning in the wee hours today.


Due to security reasons, the polls in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency which is composed of 16 assembly segments, is being held in 3 phases.

As per reports, stone-pelters clashed with security forces and reportedly damaged and torched some vehicles carrying poll staffs. A Panchayat house and a school which was converted to a polling booth were also reportedly set ablaze in the violence that ensued.

However, there was no official confirmation on the poll staff suffering any injury. Following the incident, at least 38 election officials were lifted from Jenapora district in Shopian.

The security forces used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. Sources confirmed that a youth sustained a bullet injury in his leg during the clashes in Shopian.

Similarly, according to polling officials, mob damaged as many as 23 vehicles carrying poll staff to Tral town in Pulwama. Grenades were hurled at a polling station at Rohmoo village in Pulwama.

The Anantnag Parliamentary Constituency is spread over four districts comprising Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama. District Pulwama comprises four assembly segments of Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora while as Shopian has Wachi and Shopian segments. While voting was held in Anantnag district on April 23, Kulgam went to polls on April 29 and Shopian and Pulwama are slated to see ballots cast today.

According to reports, the Election Commission has set up 450 and 245 polling stations in Pulwama and Shopian, respectively. The Election Commission has curtailed the polling duration for Anantnag constituency by two hours till 4 pm, following a request from the state police.

BJP district Vice President, Gul Mohammad Mir, was killed yesterday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowgam in South Kashmir. He was shot dead by terrorists at his home in Nowgam village. He sustained serious bullet injuries in the chest and abdomen and was declared brought dead to the hospital.

The terrorists’ attack on Mir came on a day former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti made a problematic appeal to the terrorists not to carry out any terror attacks ‘in the month of Ramzan’.

Mufti’s statement drew a lot of flak on the social media where people condemned the implications of her appeal of ‘no terror attacks during Ramzan’.

Smriti Irani hits out on Rahul Gandhi, says the despicable family is ready to kill an innocent man for their politics

OpIndia Staff
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Smriti Irani hits out on Rahul Gandhi, says the despicable family is ready to kill an innocent man for their politics

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Smriti Irani in a scathing attack on Congress President and Congress candidate from Amethi said that the family is so despicable that they are ready to let an innocent man die because they love their politics more.


She said that the hospital where Rahul Gandhi is one of the trustees denied treatment to a poor man because he was holding an Ayushman card. “He has not condoled the death, reached out to the family of the deceased and not even offered an investigation in the accusations. He is sitting quietly. Their politics is such that if we see Modi name anywhere, we will let the person die but none of my workers will help that poor man.

Irani was referring to the unfortunate incident where a man died after he was allegedly turned away for holding an Ayushman Bharat card. Yesterday, Irani had shared a video on Twitter where a man was recounting how his uncle died after Sanjay Gandhi Hospital allegedly turned them away because they were holding an Ayushman Bharat card.

Meanwhile, the hospital has denied the charges by Irani and the relatives of the old man who died.

Amethi, the high profile seat which has been the Congress bastion for decades goes to polls today where BJP’s Smriti Irani is taking on Congress President and three-time MP from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi. Last time, Irani gave Rahul Gandhi a tough fight, bringing down the victory margin to little over a lakh votes. It has been reported that fearing defeat, Rahul Gandhi has hence chosen Wayanad in Kerala as a second ‘safe’ seat for contesting elections.

Election Commission rejects plea seeking change of poll timings during Ramzan, says not feasible

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission rejects plea seeking change of poll timings during Ramzan, says not feasible

The Election Commission has rejected a plea seeking revision of the commencement of voting time from 7 AM to 4.30-5.00 AM during the month of Ramzan. It said, “Commission does not find it feasible to alter the existing hours of polls for the 5th, 6th & 7th phase of general elections to the Lok Sabha, 2019.”


The Supreme Court, on May 2, had asked the Election Commission to consider the plea seeking to reschedule the voting time from 7 am to 5 am during Ramzan coinciding with the last three phases of the Lok Sabha elections.

The petition, filed by two lawyers, Mohammad Nizammudin Pasha and Asad Hayat, sought the Supreme Court to direct the Election Commission to increase the poll timings by 2 to 2 and a half hours so the voting could begin at 4:30 am or 5:00 am as it would ensure convenient and fair opportunity for everyone to cast their vote, especially, the Muslim community.

Moreover, the heatwave conditions in Rajasthan and other states had also been attributed as the reason behind the need to have an early start to polling in the Lok Sabha elections.

“In this intense heat, it will be difficult for Muslim voters to queue up at the polling booths during the day in the intense heat to exercise their franchise,” the petition stated, and furthered that the advancement of the poll timing would allow Muslim to vote immediately after the morning prayers (Fajr) and return home before it gets too hot.

Ramzan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims begins on May 5.

According to the petition, the representation had been made to the Election Commission but since EC hadn’t responded or acknowledged the representation, the Supreme Court was requested to direct the EC to extend the timings to help Muslim voters.

Moreover, after the polling dates were announced on March 10, there had been some debates over the Lok Sabha poll dates coinciding with the Ramzan month. The Election Commission had then too clarified that it had excluded the date of the main festival and Fridays from the polling schedule.

Meanwhile, voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 51 constituencies spread across seven states, namely, Bihar (5 seats), Jharkhand (4), Madhya Pradesh (7), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (14), West Bengal (7) and Jammu and Kashmir (2 seats) began today. Results will be declared on May 23.

BJP candidate Arjun Singh attacked by TMC goons in Barrackpore

OpIndia Staff
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BJP candidate Arjun Singh attacked by TMC goons in Barrackpore

Continuing the trend of political violence, TMC goons allegedly attacked and heckled BJP candidate Arjun Singh in Barrackpore.


As per the report, Arjun Singh had reached a polling booth in Barrackpore where people complained to him that the BJP supporters are not allowed to vote. When Arjun Singh intervened, he was attacked. Singh alleged that TMC goons who have been brought from outside were scaring away the BJP voters.

Meanwhile, TMC has refuted the claims. Arjun Singh is fighting TMC’s Dinesh Trivedi on BJP ticket. In previous phase of voting, BJP MP and Asansol candidate Babul Supriyo had visited a polling booth in Asansol constituency after villagers had threatened to boycott polls following the non-deployment of central forces in some polling booths.

Clashes took place between TMC workers and BJP workers over a disagreement on the deployment of Central forces to man the booths. In the ensuing scuffle, Babul Supriyo’s car was vandalised by the TMC goons.

The current Lok Sabha elections have seen a bloodied battle in Bengal.

Places like Birbhum and Asansol in West Bengal which went into polling during the fourth phase of elections reported rampant rigging with TMC leaders accompanying voters in the voting booth. Moreover, there were reports of massive violence from Asansol. Crude bombs have been found at a polling booth in Krishnanagar, West Bengal and also bombs have been recovered from a polling booth in Santipur, Nadia district. Also, Central forces, journalists, villagers along with a Union Minister were reportedlyattacked in Dubrajpur district.

The fourth phases of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal were mired in controversy just as the first three phases of elections. Threats, intimidations, bomb attacks, proxy voting have also been recorded in some of the Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal during the third phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Similarly, TMC workers had clashed with BJP workers inside a polling booth in Chopra, Darjeeling and broken an EVM machine during the second phase of elections that concluded on April 18th.

Incidentally, the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls was no different for West Bengal, Where elections are often greeted with violent skirmishes and clashes between competing parties. Violence and rampant polling malpractice were reported from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar, that had gone to polls in the first phase of the elections.

In phase 4 of voting, journalists were attacked by TMC goons for trying to expose the political violence in Bengal. Eventually, owing to the rampant violence in first four phases, 100% central forces cover was given in the fifth phase of voting in Bengal.

Phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections: Constituencies with high profile candidates

OpIndia Staff
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Phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections: Constituencies with high profile candidates

Phase 5 of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections on Monday, May 6, will see multiple high profile battles involving some of the top leaders from both camps.

The most hotly contested constituency, perhaps, will go to polls in this phase, Amethi, where Union Minister Smriti Irani has been campaigning hard to penetrate the bastion of the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar. In Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi is expected to win comfortably.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is up for reelection from Jaipur (Rural) while Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s fate will be decided by the voters of Lucknow in this phase. Another Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will contest from Bikaner in Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, Union Minister Jayant Sinha, son of staunch BJP critic Yashwant Sinha, will be a candidate in this phase. In Madhya Pradesh, Union minister Virendra Kumar Khatik is BJP’s candidate from Tikamgarh. In West Bengal, actress Locket Chatterjee will contest from Hooghly.

Here, let us look into the dynamics of these contests in greater detail.

1. Rahul Gandhi vs Smriti Irani

In 2014, Rahul Gandhi defeated Smriti Irani by a margin of just over one lakh votes. Although the victory margin appears quite significant, it was a far cry from 2009 when the margin for Rahul Gandhi’s victory was almost 4 lakh votes.

This time around, the scene appears to have changed completely. Not only is a much closer fight expected, but Amethi is also no longer a safe seat for the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi parivar. The constituency, which for a long time has been a bastion for the Family, is seriously a toss-up seat and could go either way.

That is perhaps what motivated the Congress high command to have Rahul Gandhi contest from Wayanad in Kerala where Hindus are in the minority. If Smriti Irani does secure a victory from Amethi, which appears very possible at this point, it will be a great symbolic victory for the BJP and also augment Irani’s stature within the party.

2. Jaipur (Rural)

Olympic Silver Medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had won this seat comprehensively in 2014 in what eventually was a clean sweep for the BJP in the state. The margin of his victory was upwards of 3 lakh 30 thousand. His main contender then was Dr C.P. Joshi from the Congress party.

Rathore’s main competitor this time around is the sitting MLA from the Sadulpur Assembly Constituency, Krishna Poonia, of the Congress party. Poonia, like Rathore, has represented India in sports in international events as well and was the first Indian woman athlete to win the Gold Medal in Commonwealth Games.

In the Rajasthan Assembly Elections last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party did not perform well in the Jaipur (Rural) Assembly constituencies. The party won only two while the Congress secured 5 and one went to an independent candidate. The dynamics of General Elections is, of course, completely different from Assembly Elections. Therefore, Rathore is still expected to secure a victory as every vote for the BJP translates into a vote for Narendra Modi. However, the margin of victory may not be as great as it was the last time around.

3. Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Jayant Sinha, son of newly minted staunch BJP critic Yashwant Sinha, is the BJP candidate from the constituency. In 2014, Sinha had won the seat by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes securing 406931 votes. The runner-up, then, was Saurabh Narain Singh from the Congress party.

In 2019, the Congress party has fielded Gopal Sahu from the constituency and CPI’s candidate Bhubaneshwar Prasad Mehta, too, is expected to impact the results significantly. The Congress has secured an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha- P and RJD. Therefore, the battle is expected to be more difficult for the BJP and Sinha personally this time around.

There are rumours that the JMM is displeased with the Congress party for not being given the seat which has a significant SC/ST population. Therefore, there is a distinct possibility that they might attempt to undermine their alliance partner themselves.

4. Lucknow

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will seek reelection to the Parliament from the same constituency which he had won in 2014. Last time around, Singh’s victory margin was over 2 lakh 70 thousand against Congress candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi. He had secured over 54% of the votes.

Joshi has, since then, jumped ship and joined the BJP. Therefore, the Congress has fielded Acharya Pramod Krishnam, sometimes referred to as Islamacharya and Maulana due to his less than conventional opinions, from the constituency this time around. The BSP-SP alliance candidate for Lucknow is Punam Sinha.

Despite the alliance between the SP and BSP, the seat looks pretty secure for the BJP. The victory margin may not be as large as 2014 but Rajnath Singh appears almost certain to retain his seat.

All you need to know about phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections 2019

OpIndia Staff
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All you need to know about phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections 2019

51 Lok Sabha Constituencies across 7 states will go to polls in the 5th phase of Lok Sabha elections today. The fate of 5 seats in Bihar, 2 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, 4 seats in Jharkhand, 7 in Madhya Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, 14 in Uttar Pradesh and 7 in West Bengal will be decided today.

Uttar Pradesh is set to witness one of the most talked about individual battles of this General Election. Voters in Amethi will choose between the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar, Rahul Gandhi, and Union Minister Smriti Irani. There have been sufficient indicators that the Congress President might lose from the seat that has been his family’s bastion for years. His move to contest from Wayanad, a safe seat considering the demography of the constituency where Hindus are in the minority, was seen in this late. Irani has been campaigning aggressively and it is expected to be a very close contest this time around after a hard-fought contest.

Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli, too, will go to polls on Monday and she is expected to retain her seat quite easily. Except for Amethi and Rae Bareli, the BJP had won the other 12 seats in 2014. Home Minister Rajnath Singh is also contesting from Lucknow which goes to polls today. Samajwadi Party has fielded former BJP leader and currently Congress candidate from Patna Sahib constituency, Shatrughan Sinha’s wife Poonam Sinha against Rajnath Singh. Congress has fielded Acharya Pramod. The other UP seats going to the polls on May 6 are Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj (SC), Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi (SC), Barabanki (SC), Faizabad, Bahraich (SC), Kaiserganj and Gonda. The BJP is expected to do well in the state in this phase as well although it remains to be seen how many it is able to retain.

Among the other high-profile candidates in the 5th phase are Union Ministers Rathore (Jaipur rural) and Meghwal (Bikaner) in Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, Union Minister Jayant Sinha, son of staunch BJP critic Yashwant Sinha, will be a candidate in this phase. In Madhya Pradesh, Union minister Virendra Kumar Khatik is BJP’s candidate from Tikamgarh.

In West Bengal, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Howrah, Uleberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambag will go to polls in the 5th phase. BJP candidate from Bongaon (SC) seat, Shantanu Thakur, was injured in a road accident when a police van lost control and hit Thakur’s vehicle when he was heading towards Kalyani to attend an election rally on the last day of campaigning. In Hooghly, the BJP candidate is Locket Chatterjee. A residence she was lodged at recently during campaigning was attacked allegedly by goons associated with the Trinamool as well.

As many as 39 seats of the 51 were won by the BJP in 2014, barring the two won by Congress in its bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, the seven seats in West Bengal which were won by the Trinamool Congress and another 2 which were won by the BJP’s allies RLSP and LJP in the Sitamarhi and Hajipur constituencies. The RLSP since then has gone over to the Congress while the LJP remains an ally of the BJP. Therefore, the 5th phase is extremely critical for the BJP and the party is expected to perform well this time around as well.

Top Naxal leaders named in the Gadchiroli attack FIR, including brother of Urban Naxal Anand Teltumbde

OpIndia Staff
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Top Naxal leaders named in the Gadchiroli attack FIR, including brother of Urban Naxal Anand Teltumbde

In the investigation being carried out by the Mumbai Police regarding the Gadchiroli IED blast which claimed the lives of 15 police personnel, the police have named all the Central Committee members of the CPI(Maoist) in the FIR registered in the case. The FIR mentions the Maoist leaders including former CPI(Maoist) general secretary Ganpati Gopalrao, current chief Nambala Keshaorao, Mallojula Venugopal, Katakam Sudarshan aka Anand, Satyanarayan Krishna Reddy, Lokoti Chander Rao, Milind Teltumde and Bhaskar Rao Hichkani.

The police have also named Puluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna, Lokati Chandran Rao, Gokul Madavi, Navluram Tulavi, Dinkar Gotta, Vilas Kolla, Jagdish Tekam, Madhu Mansing Tekam, Umesh Waddo, Maini Bogga, Vinod Bogga, Kedar Pijjo, all operating at different levels of the Naxal hierarchy. Among them, Puluri, Madhu and Maini are women cadres, a police official said.

The police are investigating the lapses that led to the ghastly attack. According to reports, the Maoists who blew up the vehicle of the police personnel watched the explosion from a distance. According to police, Milind Teltumbde had carried out a Janata Durbar in the last week of April in a village called Dadarpur, where the Maoists allegedly set several vehicles on fire on the same day as the day when security personnel were attacked.

Milind Teltumbde is the younger brother of alleged urban Naxal Anand Teltumbde, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. He was arrested by the police from Mumbai airport to interrogate him after his plea seeking anticipatory bail was rejected. Milind Teltumbde who handles the operations of the CPI(M) is also an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

The families of the policemen who lost their lives are alleging that the police did not follow the standard operating procedure while sending the men as reinforcements from Kurkheda to Purada police stations. “A few days ago there were posters in Jambulkheda that there would be an attack on May 1. This information was available with officers and they should have acted accordingly. When so many cars were burned, the officer at Kurkheda should have taken it into consideration while moving the men. He should have consulted senior officers on how to strategize the police movement”, said Vijay Mishra brother-in-law of Pramod Mahadevrao Bhoir, a policeman who died in the attack.

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