After days of high-decibel campaigning that saw defections , violence and bitter exchanges , the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly ...
After days of high-decibel campaigning that saw defections, violence and bitter exchanges, the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections will take place on Saturday, with 30 constituencies going to the polls amid tight security and a pandemic.
Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6.30 pm. Those with coronavirus symptoms such as fever may vote between 5 pm and 6.30 pm, The Hindu reported.
More than 73 lakh voters will decide the fate of 91 candidates who are in the fray in five districts, most of which fall in the Jungle Mahal region, which was once the stronghold of Maoists.
Polling will take place in all nine seats in Purulia, four in Bankura, four in Jhargram, six in Paschim Medinipur, and the seven seats in Purba Medinipur, the home ground of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari.
The Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have fielded candidates in 29 seats each, while the Left-Congress-Indian Secular Front alliance will jointly contest on all 30 seats.
The contest in the first phase is expected to be a straight fight between the BJP and ruling TMC, although the saffron party is likely to have an upper hand as it had managed to win most of the Parliamentary seats in the region in the 2019 General...
