West Bengal Assembly Election 2021: First phase polling ends with 79.79% voter turnout, violence reported in some parts

The first phase of polling in the highly anticipated West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 ended on Saturday. The elections will see fierce competition between the state ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

According to the Election Commission, the situation during polling mainly remained peacefully but violence was reported in some parts of the state, including Purba Medinipur and Majna village.

A clash broke out between activists of the BJP and the TMC in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram constituency which is set to go to polls on April 1. The clash left at least three persons seriously injured, a senior police officer said.

BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari, brother of TMC turncoat Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that he was attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters in Contai. He alleged that TMC workers were stopping voters from casting their votes in Contai and complained to the officials about the same.

"Under the leadership of TMC block president Ram Govind Das and his wife poll rigging was underway at three polling booths. My arrival here created a problem for them to continue with their mischiefs, so they attacked my car and thrashed my driver," news agency ANI quoted Soumendu as saying.

Voting for the assembly elections in West Bengal began on Saturday with 30 constituencies going to the polls. Following the conclusion of the first phase of polling in West Bengal, the Election Commission said that a turnout of 79.79% was recorded amid fears over the second wave of the deadly COVID-19.

As per the official figures of the Election Commission, Purba Medinipur recorded the highest turnout at 82.51%, followed by Jhargram at 80.56%, Paschim Medinipur at 80.12%, Bankura at 79.90% and Purulia at 77.07%.

Meanwhile, a huge controversy erupted with the BJP releasing an audio clip on Saturday, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is purportedly heard cajoling a BJP leader from Nandigram to rejoin the TMC and help her win the seat.

A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary and BJP's central observer for West Bengal, Kailash Vijayvargiya, met the state's chief electoral officer and handed over the tape, claiming Banerjee was using her official position to influence the outcome of the bitterly contested assembly poll.