In the seventh phase (phase-7) of West Bengal election, the state witnessed a 17.95% voter turnout till 9:45 am. A total of 34 constituencies are up for grabs in this phase. The Election Commission of India has deployed 26 general observers, 9 expenditure observers and 6 police observers for the 7th phase of polls.
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The candidate of Trinamool Congress from Rashbehari (Kolkata) Debashis Kumar alleged that he was not allowed to enter many booths by central forces.
After casting his vote in Kolkata, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, predicted a 2/3rd majority for the Mamata Banerjee government.
The voting for the seventh phase started at 7 am, with polling taking place across 34 seats in parts of Paschim Bardhaman, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda and Kolkata. Over 86 lakh voters are into deciding the political fate of 284 candidates during this phase.
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Among the most keenly watched contests is the battle for the prestigious Bhabanipur seat, which was vacated by incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as she decided to contest from Nandigram this time. The ruling party TMC has fielded veteran politician and state power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay from the constituency as the party hopes to bag the seat for a third consecutive time. Popular Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh, who is contesting on a BJP ticket is against Chattopadhyay.
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For Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who had fought assembly elections seven times and won each of the contests, the constituency is his home turf as he is a resident of the area and exercises his franchise there. That places his as a far stronger candidate from the seat.
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Nusrat Jahan, a prominent TMC MP and her parents cast their votes at a polling booth in Kolkata. “Wherever I have been campaigning, I have seen people’s support towards Mamata Banerjee,” she said, further adding, “When PM Modi decided he would not hold any public meetings, EC decided to call off all public meetings. It only listens to the Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.”
The ECI has been under a lot of criticism to allow the phases of elections go beyond 4 amid the second wave of the pandemic and allegedly parleying favours with the central government. In this regard, cases have been filed by intelligentsia in Kolkata against the partisan approach of the poll body. Observers on the ground stated that in the seventh phase, the split of minority votes may dent Congress’ electoral share in Murishidabad.
Vote counting for the West Bengal assembly election will be held along with those for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry on May 02.
