West Bengal poll: Record paramilitary deployment for Phase 7

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, April 25

A record 796 companies of the central forces will be deployed to ensure smooth polling in 34 Assembly seats in West Bengal tomorrow. Thirty-four constituencies, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s home turf Bhabanipur, is going to polls in the seventh phase.

According to the original schedule, polling in this phase was supposed to be held in 36 seats. However, elections for Samserganj and Jangipur were countermanded following the death of candidates contesting from these two constituencies. Polling in Jangipur and Samserganj will now take place on May 16.

A total of 86,78,221 voters — 44,44,634 men and 42,33,358 women and 229 from the third gender – form the electorate in the 34 constituencies spread across Malda (six), Kolkata Dakshin (four), Murshidabad (nine), Paschim Bardhaman (nine) and Dakshin Dinajpur (six) districts.

The focus in this phase of polling is on seats in the southern part of the city, mainly Bhabanipore which was twice (2011 and 2016) represented in the Assembly by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. While Banerjee is contesting from Nandigram this time, she has chosen one of her seniormost party leaders, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, from Bhabanipore. The BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh from the seat.

From Rashbehari, earlier represented by Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the saffron party has named Lt Gen Subrata Saha (retd) against TMC’s Debasish Kumar.

West Bengal Urban Affairs Minister and Mayor Firhad Hakim is contesting from Kolkata Port against BJP’s Awadh Kishore Gupta and Congress’ Mohammed Mukhtar.

Another candidate dies of Covid

Kolkata: TMC candidate from Khardaha Kajal Sinha, who had tested positive for Covid-19, died at a hospital here on Sunday. He is the third candidate to die of the infection in West Bengal. Sinha (59) was found to have contracted the viral disease two days ago, following which he was admitted to Beliaghata ID hospital. TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock and grief over his demise. TNS