In West Bengal’s Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency, a BJP booth president was allegedly attacked ahead of the first phase of elections on April 19. Lab Sarkar, president of booth number 63 at Bairati A.P. School, was reportedly attacked by ruling Trinamool Congress workers, according to the BJP’s complaint to the Cooch Behar Police. The police are investigating the incident to identify the attackers.
In West Bengal, the constituencies of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar are part of the first phase.
Union Minister Nisith Pramanik is contesting against TMC’s Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia in the Cooch Behar (SC) seat. The election atmosphere is tense due to the rivalry between Pramanik and TMC’s Udayan Guha. The Election Commission has taken precautions, deciding not to deploy CISF personnel at Sitalkuchi due to past incidents during the 2021 assembly elections. Instead, BSF, CRPF, or ITBP personnel will be deployed for the April 19 polls.
However, the voting in booth number 60 of the Sheikhpura assembly constituency, Bihar has been halted due to some alleged technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), as per the reports.
First phased of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 kicks off in India on Friday with more than 1,600 candidates vying for positions, including eight Union ministers, two former Chief Ministers, and one ex-Governor.
Also read: Lok Sabha 2024: BJP’s Hyderabad Candidate Directs Imaginary Arrow At Mosque, Sparks Controversy
This phase includes 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union territories.
Voting commenced at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm, although there may be variations in the voting times for some constituencies participating in this initial phase.
The election will be held across seven phases in total.
Also read: Lok Sabha 2024 LIVE | Voting Begins For Phase 1 Polls In 102 Constituencies Across 21 States
