Polling underway in Bengal’s 9 LS seats amid violence in Sandeshkhali, Bhangar

Kolkata: Polling is underway for the nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal in the seventh phase on Saturday amid reports of poll-related violence and tension surfacing from several pockets, including Sandeshkhali, Bhangar.

The violence started late Friday night and continued till the beginning of the polling process at 7 a.m.

Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha and Bhangar under Jadavpur Lok Sabha were the epicentres of the tension.

At Sandeshkhali, tension started mounting late Friday night as a group of local women came out on the streets carrying bamboo sticks protesting against the alleged threats to their family members by local Trinamool Congress activists accompanied by the state police. The women also alleged that the local goons who were behind such threats were close associates of now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, who is currently behind bars.

However, the state police have denied the allegations and said that the tension flared up after some local BJP supporters had beaten up a couple of civic volunteers at Sandeshkhali.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari and BJP Information Technology cell chief Amit Malviya shared the videos of the protesting women at Sandeshkhali. Launching scathing attacks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee they accused her of unleashing the party goons and state police in intimidating voters.

Similarly, tension broke out in front of a polling booth at Bhangar since the beginning of the polling process at 7 a.m. on Saturday following clashes between Trinamool Congress and All India Secular Front (AISF) activists. A woman AISF activist received head injuries following the clashes.

Earlier, the vehicle of the AISF candidate Nur Alam Khan was vandalized allegedly by a group of Trinamool Congress activists.