Bypolls Updates: 64.03% Voter Turnout in Asansol, 41.1% Recorded in Ballygunge Till 5pm

The polling for the bypolls to one Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal’s Asansol and four assembly seats in Ballygunge in Bengal, Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh, Bochahan in Bihar and Kolhapur North in Maharashtra were held peacefully on Tuesday, barring minor incidents of violence in Bengal.

All eyes are on West Bengal’s Asansol and Ballygunge where polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, an election official said.

The TMC has fielded actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population. The BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul. Mamata Banerjee’s party has fielded Supriyo in Ballygunge where he is pitted against BJP’s Keya Ghosh and CPI(M)’s Saira Shah Halim. The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.

While Babul Supriyo had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the TMC in September last year, Shatrughan Sinha announced that he has joined the TMC last month, two days after Bengal CM and party supremo Mamata Banerjee said that he will contest the Asansol assembly seat in the West Bengal bypolls on party’s ticket.

The bypoll to the Asansol seat, which was won by Babul Supriyo on a BJP ticket in 2019, was necessitated after Supriyo left the Saffron party to join the TMC and resigned from the MP post. The Ballygunge seat, meanwhile, fell vacant after the demise of former state minister Subrata Mukherjee in November last year.

By-elections Latest Updates:

-Poll percentage till 5 pm in Asansol and Ballygunge

– Asansol: 64.03%

– Ballygunge: 41.1%

-‘Police attempting to influence voting’, alleges BJP’s Agnimitra Paul

“They [Police] are attempting to influence voting, attacking us, not allowing media, nor are they letting polling agents sit. DM has ordered that the press won’t go with me… DM works for Mamata Banerjee,” alleged BJP’s Asansol candidate Agnimitra Paul.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1513777722107240452

-TMC’s Babul Supriyo claims BJP candidate Keya Ghosh entered polling booths last night

TMC’s Ballygunge bypoll candidate Babul Supriyo claimed that BJP candidate Keya Gosh entered a couple of booths last night, adding that they have approached the EC regarding the same.

“BJP candidate Keya Gosh entered a couple of booths last night, we approached the EC regarding that. I’ve been in touch with people on the ground. I suspect CPM & BJP will hurl allegations that I’m being trying to influence the voters,” TMC leader Babul Supriyo was quoted as saying by ANI.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1513735780233256960

–TMC’s Asansol candidate Shatrughan Sinha seen touring constituency

-Agnimitra Paul alleges attack on her convoy 

BJP Asansol candidate Agnimitra Paul has alleged that her convoy has been attacked in Barabani area of the constituency. Agnimitra alleged that “TMC goons” are behind the attack.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1513738837411139584

She also alleged that BJP mondal president Goutam Mondal, who was the polling agent in booth no 182 in Jamuria, has been “brutally beaten up by TMC workers” on the road when he went out for lunch.

-Agnimitra Paul claims Bengal Police ‘influencing voters’, TMC says central forces ‘instigating voters’ 

BJP’s Asansol candidate Agnimitra Paul who pointed out the presence of Bengal Police at a booth in Asansol’s Barabani has asked asks central forces to remove the state cops, claiming that they are “influencing voters”.

The TMC, meanwhile, is claiming that the central forces deployed at Asansol booths are not allowing voters with cellphones and are asking them to go back home and come without phones. The TMC has also alleged the central force personnel are “instigating voters” to vote for BJP.

-Local TMC councilor gets into argument with central force personnel in Ballygunge

Sudarshana Mukherjee, a local TMC councilor, got into a into heated argument with the central forces stationed in Ballygunge, alleging that the personnel are not allowing voters to enter booth with mobile phones in pockets.

-Babul Supriyo stopped from entering polling booth in Ballygunge

Babul Supriyo, TMC’s candidate for Ballygunge assembly seat bypoll, was reportedly stopped by CAPF personnel from entering  South Point School which is one of the polling stations in the constituency. He was seen touring the constituency early morning.

-TMC Questions Presence of BJP Asansol candidate Agnimitra Paul’s bodyguards inside polling booth

It is hardly two hours into the voting and the TMC and BJP are already clashing. While BJP’s Asansol seat candidate Agnimitra Paul flagged the presence of Bengal Police amid central security at a booth, the TMC is now questioning the presence of her bodyguards inside polling booth with her.

-BJP’s Agnimitra Paul Confident of victory in Asansol, Says Shatrughan Sinha not her competitor

BJP’s Asansol candidate Agnimitra Paul exuded confidence of winning the bypoll and said she does not consider TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha as her competitor. “Shatrughan Sinha is not my competitor, he does not know Asansol. Am confident I will win”.

Agnimitra Paul also complained to the election commission (EC) alleging presence of Bengal Police at a booth. “How can they be there,” she asked as central forces have been deployed in the constituency for the polling.

Agnimitra Paul claimed that her agents are were not allowed at a booth in Barabani.

-Tight security in Bengal’s Asansol, Ballygunge for voting

A total of 133 companies of central forces have been deployed in the two constituencies — Asansol and Ballygunge. A total 70 companies are stationed in Ballygunge and the remaining are in Asansol. The polling will continue till 6.30 pm.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1513438943374876672

-‘Sensitive’ booths identified in Asansol, Ballygunge

-Altogether 680 of the total 2,012 booths in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, and all the 300 booths in Ballygunge in south Kolkata have been identified as “sensitive”, he said. Around 15 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol. There are around 2.5 lakh voters in Ballygunge.

-Voting underway for Bochahan bypoll in Bihar

Voting began at 7 am on Tuesday for the by-election to the Bochahan assembly seat in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district amid tight security. A total of 2.90 lakh voters will decide the fates of 13 candidates, three of them women, in the by-election, they said.

Altogether 1.53 lakh men, 1.47 lakh women and four voters of the third gender will exercise their franchise at 350 polling centres, which are being manned by 1,500 security personnel, they said. By-poll to the seat was necessitated by the death of MLA Musafir Paswan, who had won on the ticket of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) of Bollywood set designer-turned-politician Mukesh Sahani.

-Voting underway in for bypolls in Kolhapur, Khairagarh assembly seats of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh

Voting is also underway in two other assembly seats – one in Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh and the other in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur.

The Khairagarh seat was running vacant with the demise of MLA of Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCJ) Devwrat Singh in November 2021. The bypoll in Kolhapur, meanwhile, has been necessitated following the death of sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav due to Covid-19 in December 2021

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