46 per cent votes cast in WB by-poll till 1 PM

Polling began at 7 am and till 1 pm Dinhata registered 47.83 per cent turnout, Shantipur 48.02 per cent, Khardah 36.70 per cent and Gosaba (SC) 52.19 per cent, an official said.

Kolkata:Moderate voting of 46 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in four assembly constituencies on Saturday in West Bengal, where peaceful by-poll is on, an Election Commission official said.

Polling began at 7 am and till 1 pm Dinhata registered 47.83 per cent turnout, Shantipur 48.02 per cent, Khardah 36.70 per cent and Gosaba (SC) 52.19 per cent, the official said.

"Polling is peaceful and there is no single incident or any problem anywhere in the four constituencies. Polling is taking place very smoothly," he told the media.

There were reports of minor incidents in Khardah in North 24 Parganas district in the northern fringes of the city and the EC has sought a report on the heated exchange of words between BJP and Trinamool Congress workers there.

Similar incidents have been reported from Shantipur in Nadia district and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district, the official said.

In Dinhata constituency in Coochbehar district, TMC candidate Udayan Guha accused Union Minister of State for Home affairs Nisith Pramanik of entering booth number 232 with armed guards in uniform.

"Such an incident has created a reign of fear in the area. This is unacceptable. We have complained to the EC," Guha told reporters.

Pramanik has denied the allegations as baseless and politically motivated. He alleged that goons associated with the TMC have unleashed a reign of terror in the area.

Khardah BJP candidate Joy Saha was seen running after a person, whom he later handed over to the police claiming that the man was as a "fake voter".

Senior CPI(M) leader Tanmay Bhattacharya claimed that his car was attacked and he was injured when he was entering the party office in Khardah.

He accused TMC activists of carrying out the attack, an allegation that the ruling party denied.

The EC official said, "We are keeping a close watch on everything. Most of these incidents took place outside the booths or polling stations. There is an adequate number of central forces as well as state police who are handling the situation with utmost precision."

The Election Commission has ordered strict maintenance of COVID-19 guidelines during the by-elections to the four seats, where extensive security arrangements have also been made for peaceful polling.

It has deployed 27 companies of central armed forces in Dinhata, 22 in Santipur, 20 in Khardah and 23 in Gosaba, an official said.

PTI