The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said the first phase of polling in the West Bengal and Assam Assembly elections went off peacefully, with 79.79% and 76.89% turnout respectively as of 5 p.m.

Voting was carried out at 21,825 polling stations in a total of 77 Assembly constituencies in the two States.

73 lakh voters across 30 Assembly constituencies were entitled to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 191 candidates in West Bengal.

In Assam, 81 lakh voters in 47 constituencies across 12 districts in eastern and a part of central Assam were to decide the fate of 264 candidates, including 23 women.

There were stray incidents of violence and allegations of electoral malpractices in West Bengal. The ECI deployed 732 companies of Central forces in Bengal on Saturday. In Assam, a total of 11,537 polling booths had been set up and more than 30,000 personnel of paramilitary forces were deployed.

The EC said in a statement that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) used for the phase one polls malfunctioned less than in previous polls.

“Nonfunctioning rate during the poll is lesser than experienced in last few polls,” the EC said.

The EC added that live monitoring and webcasting was carried out for over 50% of the polling stations, including critical and vulnerable polling booths. The EC said COVID-19 safety protocols like sanitising all polling stations a day before voting, thermal scanning, and hand sanitisers and face masks were made available at the locations.

The EC added that it had already made “record seizure of ₹281.28 crore”, including cash, liquor and narcotics, in the two States. This amount was over four times higher than the combined seizures of ₹60.91 crore in the 2016 elections.

During the day, the EC’s CVigil app received 167 cases of Model Code of Conduct violations in West Bengal, of which 111 were disposed of as of 4.30 p.m., and 582 cases in Assam, out of which 423 were disposed of till 4.30 pm, the EC said.

While Assam has two more phases of polling to go, West Bengal has seven phases left before the results are announced for both on May 2.

Bengal votes

 The highest voting of about 82.51 % in West Bengal’s first phase was recorded in Purba Medinipur; Paschim Medinipur recorded 80.12%; Jhargram 80.55%; Bankura 79.90%, and Purulia recorded the lowest at 77.07%. Aariz Aftab, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, said that voting was expected to rise when the final count of votes is ascertained.

There was tension in Keshriary Assembly seat from the early morning, after the body of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, Mangal Soren, was found in the courtyard of his house in the Begumpur area of Keshiary. The CEO said that the cause of death could only be ascertained after a post mortem. Polling in Keshairy in Paschim Medinipur district was held on Saturday.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) candidate from Salboni, Sushanta Ghosh, was heckled in Salboni when he visited a polling booth in the district. The former minister was pushed, allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters, and his vehicle was attacked. The vehicle of the CPI(M) leader was chased by the locals, who also hit it with shoes. Locals also attacked vehicles of media personnel who were present at the spot.

The vehicle of BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari, brother of Suvendu Adhikari, was attacked in Kanthi’s Salajpur. Late on Friday evening, clashes erupted at the Patashpur Assembly segment and two security personnel were injured. The CEO said that three cases had been lodged, one each in connection with the incidents at Salboni, Kanthi and Patashpur, and 12 persons had been arrested. There were reports of a vote boycott at three polling stations — two in Chatna and one in the Ranibadh Assembly constituency.

At a polling booth in Kanthi’s Majra High Madrasha area, Trinamool Congress supporters alleged that even after pressing the EVM buttons in favour of TMC candidates, the VVPAT slips are showing votes for BJP. Locals stopped voting at a polling booth and blocked roads by burning tyres. The CEO said that the voting was resumed at the polling booth and error was addressed.

“Shocking claim by voters which must be immediately looked into by @ECISVEEPand @CEOWestBengal. Many voters in Kanthi Dakshin assembly seat allege that they voted for TMC but VVPAT showed them the BJP symbol. THIS IS SERIOUS! THIS IS UNPARDONABLE!,” the Trinamool Congress tweeted from its official handle during the day

In Bhagwanpur Assembly constituency locals alleged that BJP supporters had threatened them against voting. Villagers said that BJP supporters also beat them up. A TMC delegation comprising several MPs of the party visited the office of the CEO, West Bengal and demanded withdrawal of the notification dated March 18, 2021, regarding “invalid relaxation in the appointment of polling agents”. As per the relaxation, supporters of a party, who are residents outside a particular polling booth, can also serve as the polling agent at the specific booth. The CEO said that such relaxations have been done for the entire country and a final decision on it would be taken by Election Commission of India. The BJP delegation which met the CEO said that polling was free and fair in 90% booths and gave suggestions for more stringent measures to be taken by the EC for the next phases.

Assam votes

Tea plantation workers are a deciding factor in 38 of the 47 seats that went to the polls in Assam on Saturday. The BJP and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had in 2016 won 35 of these first phase constituencies. The Congress had won the remaining nine seats.

In Assam, a few electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioned but they were taken care of, officials said.

“Every voter was given a glove to avoid direct contact with the EVMs. Voters were also provided with masks and were sanitised before entering the polling stations,” Assam’s CEO Nitin Khade said.

The number of voters for every booth was also brought down to a maximum of 1,000 to avoid crowding, he added.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is contesting from Majuli Assembly constituency, cast his vote in his home district Dibrugarh.

Among the other key candidates in the first phase are AGP president Atul Bora (Bokakhat seat), State Congress president and Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora (Gohpur), his Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal counterparts Lurinjyoti Gogoi (Duliajan and Naharkatiya) and Akhil Gogoi (Sibsagar) respectively.

The first phase heavyweights seeking re-election are Assembly Speaker Hitendranath Goswami (BJP, Jorhat), Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta (AGP, Kaliabor), Minorities Welfare Minister Ranjit Dutta (BJP, Behali), former ministers Ajanta Neog (BJP, Golaghat) and Rakibul Hussain (Congress, Samaguri).

One of the most prestigious first phase seats for the BJP is Batadrava, central to its campaign against ‘land jihad’, a reference to alleged Bangladeshis encroaching upon swathes of land belonging to satras or Vaishnavite monasteries.

Likewise, a sentimental first phase seat for the Congress is Titabar that former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who died in November 2020, represented.