Phase1 polling concludes in Assam & Bengal

In Assam and West Bengal, polling for the First Phase of Assembly Elections on Saturday concluded peacefully. According to preliminary reports Bengal reported 79.79 per cent voter turnout till 6 pm while Assam reported 72.14 per cent turnout till the same time. Voting for the first phase of elections in the two states began in the  morning - for 30 and 47 seats respectively.

In Assam , polling by and large was peaceful. Some complaints of EVM glitches were lodged, an Election Commission official said.Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal exercised his franchise  at Sahitya Sabha Bhavan, a model polling station, in his home town Dibrugarh in upper Assam. Voting began at 7 am in the north-eastern state and concluded at 6 pm, with the timing extended by an hour to ensure COVID protocols are followed. The fate of Sonowal, Speaker Hitendranath Goswami, state Congress chief Ripun Borah and a host of ministers has been locked in EVM.

In Bengal, the TMC and BJP trades allegations against each other. The TMC alleged that the voter turnout in constituencies in Purbo Medinipur district dropped by almost half in a matter of five minutes. TMC has claimed that BJP workers have thrashed voters in Bankura's Saltora.West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating the Election Commission of India's model code of conduct by addressing people in Bangladesh, where he is on a two-day visit, saying people in her state and Assam are still voting for the assembly elections. Security forces resorted to lathicharge after clash broke out between BJP and TMC at a polling booth in Mohanpur in West Midnapore district. Security forces had to disperse the crowds and hence resorted to lathicharge.