Mamata Banerjee looked up at the overcast afternoon sky and thanked the clouds that kept the April Sun pretty much hidden in Kolkata for most part of the day.
“The day is cloudy and it drizzled in some areas. I think it’s a good sign for us,” Mamata said.
In spite of the winds of ‘parivartan’ (change) or the rain clouds, Kolkatans couldn’t beat the current voting record.
The turnout in Kolkata was 62% with the average in the three districts being 78%, according to the chief electoral office.
This phase remained largely incident free with some rigging attempts by both parties. Mamata Banerjee has alleged that several booths in Jadavpur constituency were rigged at the behest of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
“It is a matter of shame that the state’s chief minister has tried to manipulate polling in few of the areas of his constituency. He is using the state police in the area. We will inform the Election Commission with proof,” Mamata said.
Altogether 75 constituencies went for poll on in the third phase, of which 11 were in Kolkata, 33 in North 24 Parganas and 31 in South 24 Parganas.
Apart from Bhattacharjee, the fate of key Left Front candidates like housing minister and chief rabble-rouser Gautam Deb, finance minister Asim Dasgupta, land reform minister Rezzak Mollah and minority affairs minister Abdus Sattar has been decided.
Wednesday’s results will show if voters think Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra would make a better state finance minister.
