KOLKATA: The Bengal Congress on Tuesday demanded fresh polling in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies, alleging intimidation of voters, removal of its polling agents and widespread electoral malpractice during the bypolls.State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar alleged that party agents had been forcibly removed from polling booths in Rejinagar and claimed that several booths in Nandigram had been “captured” by workers of the ruling BJP.The Congress’s Rejinagar candidate Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi staged a sit-in outside the local police station, seeking cancellation of the polling and fresh elections, Sarkar said at a press conference at the party’s state headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan, in Kolkata.“Our Rejinagar candidate has begun a sit-in before the local PS protesting the forcible eviction of our agents from over a hundred booths in that constituency. Later we found that Congress agents were roughed up and forced to leave from almost all the booths in Rejinagar,” Sarkar alleged.He claimed that the party had alerted the Election Commission on Monday night about an alleged conspiracy to rig the election, purportedly involving the inspector-in-charge of the Rejinagar police station and officials at different levels of the administration.“An atmosphere of intimidation has been created in such a manner that except the BJP workers, no one else can stay inside the polling booths,” Sarkar added.In Nandigram, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan alleged that the polling process was marred by intimidation of voters and alleged bias by the police and security forces.Pradhan, who is currently out on interim bail granted by the Calcutta high court in connection with cases arising from the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram, also alleged that police attempted to restrict his movement during polling.“A climate of hooliganism and utter lawlessness is prevailing in Nandigram for the past few days. Miscreants are moving around on motorcycles at night and threatening my agents and supporters not to come out and vote. They have snatched the identity cards of my poll agents,” he told PTI Videos.Pradhan also alleged that women voters had been prevented from entering polling stations and claimed that their voter slips were taken away.“Nearly a hundred women from the Rajaram Chowk area had come to me alleging that their voter slips were snatched outside polling stations by a group of people who forcibly turned them back, saying their votes have already been cast. These are clear signs of looting of votes and trampling of democracy. Places where people have been able to cast their votes have spoken against the government,” he added.He further alleged that police and CRPF personnel had prevented him from moving freely in the constituency.“The police have taken up the task of making people vote in favour of the ruling BJP,” he said, alleging that shops of minority voters were being looted while police remained silent.Pradhan claimed that he had submitted several complaints to the Election Commission but expressed doubts about getting relief from the poll panel.“The Commission is also working for the government. Gyanesh Kumar is actually Vanish Kumar, who is controlled by the BJP headquarters. We have lodged our complaints before the EC because that is an official procedure, but we are not hopeful of receiving justice from the poll body,” he said.The Congress has demanded total re-polling in both Nandigram and Rejinagar.Sarkar also claimed that the BJP was controlling the polling mechanism in Nandigram and alleged that no Election Commission official or observer was present there.The reference to Gyanesh Kumar as “Vanish Kumar” has been used previously by the Trinamool Congress during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The TMC used the term while accusing the Chief Election Commissioner of making people’s voting rights “vanish”.(With agency inputs)
