BJP Bengal chief alleges by-polls not 'free & fair', accuses TMC of intimidating voters

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Sukanta Majumder on Sunday alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers intimidated workers during by-polls in the state. Majumder claimed that the elections were not held in a ‘free and fair’ manner. West Bengal had by-polls Khardah, Santipur, Dinhata and Gosaba assembly seats on Saturday.

Following the election, the BJP state president has now alleged that the TMC workers went from house to house and threatened people not to vote in the elections. “TMC workers are visiting every house in Dinhata since last night and are threatening people not to vote in the elections. In Khardah, this morning, our candidate caught two fake voters, out of which one is speaking on camera that he is from Bangladesh. They are coming from Bangladesh and voting in West Bengal. According to me, it cannot be called a free and fair election,” Majumder told news agency ANI.

“People have been caught but the administration is silent here. This is not a free and fair election. People are not being allowed to vote even in Santipur,” Majumder added. Meanwhile, reacting to TMC’s ongoing campaigns in Goa and Tripura ahead of assembly elections in the states, Majumder said, “I request Mamata Banerjee to assure migrant labourers who went from West Bengal to Goa is search of livelihood, that they will get a job in Bengal today.”

BJP alleges bogus voter was caught in Khardah

BJP on Saturday alleged that a bogus voter was caught while trying to cast his vote in the Khardah by-polls in the North 24 Parganas district. The bogus voter has confessed that his home is in Dhaka, BJP has alleged. BJP candidate Joy Saha was also seen running after a person, whom he later handed over to the police claiming that he was a "bogus voter". There was also a heated exchange of words between BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters. The Election Commission (EC) has sought a report for the same.

West Bengal by-polls

Four assembly constituencies in Bengal went into by-polls on Saturday amid COVID-19 safety protocols. The major contest will be on Dinhata assembly seats as TMC heavyweight Udayan Guha wants to reclaim the seat, which the saffron party had snatched from him by a whisker in the April polls. He has been fielded against BJP candidate Ashok Mondal.

By-elections to Dinhata were forced after the resignation of Nisith Pramanik, current Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, as he decided to retain his Lok Sabha membership. He had defeated Guha by a margin of just 57 votes. The other three seats where polling took place are Khardah in North 24 Parganas, Gosaba in South 24 Parganas and Santipur in Nadia district. State minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who resigned from the Bhabanipur seat for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is fighting from Khardah. He is fielded against BJP's Joy Saha.

Image: ANI/ PTI