Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Sujata Mondal Khan has alleged EVM tampering during the third phase of the West Bengal Assembly election. “At booth no 45 in Batanal, despite pressing the symbol of TMC, the vote is going to the BJP,” Sujata told a leading news agency.
Sujata, who recently joined the TMC from the BJP, alleged that the saffron party is indulging in violence and creating chaos in Arambagh. “In Arandi, TMC workers have been thrashed. The BJP is thinking that by creating violence they will get the Arambagh seat. They are mistaken as I am the kind of person who does not fear death,” she said, alleging that the CRPF isn’t working neutrally and are asking people to vote for the BJP.
The Trinamool Congress fielded Sujata in the Arambagh constituency against CPI(M)'s Sakti Mohan Malik and BJP's Madhusudhan Bag. Sujata is one of the 13 women candidates contesting in the third phase of the West Bengal elections. She said she does not see any competition in the BJP.
Meanwhile, Diamond Harbour BJP candidate Dipak Haldar has alleged that TMC workers are preventing the public from exercising their franchise in the third phase of the elections. He made the allegations to a news agency stating that TMC is not letting people vote at booth number 143 and 180 Dagira Baduldanga. He added that he approached the Election Commission a lodged a complaint on the same. However, TMC denied the allegations and said that the BJP is making baseless statements.
West Bengal is already witnessing a heated election. The TMC and BJP have been accusing each other of manipulating the election system for their advantage. To add more fuel to the already heated elections, a sector officer was found sleeping at the house of a TMC leader with a reserved EVM. The BJP has sought a detailed probe into the incident. The EC suspended the sector officer and the sector officer after the incident came to light.
According to reports, West Bengal has recorded 34.71% voter turnout before noon. In the third phase of the elections, 31 Assembly constituencies of West Bengal including eight in Hooghly, seven in Howrah and 16 in South 24 Parganas. A total of 205 candidates are contesting in these constituencies. West Bengal is an eight-phase election with the fourth phase on April 10 and the vote counting will take place on May 2.
