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Kolkata: The repoll in the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal on Thursday, May 21, saw a voter turnout of over 60 per cent till 1 pm, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, a poll panel official said.

“Polling has remained peaceful in Falta. We have not received a single report of any problem from anywhere in the constituency. Till 1 pm, 60.43 per cent of polling has been registered,” the poll panel official told PTI.

A large number of voters were seen queuing outside the 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency since early morning.

Although officially six candidates are in the fray for the seat, Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan, a couple of days ago, announced that he would not contest the poll, a decision the party described as his personal.

Political tensions remained high in the constituency since polling on April 29, when complaints surfaced from multiple booths alleging that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs, which ultimately led to the countermanding of the polls.

43 percent voter turnout till 11 AM

The repoll to the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal on Thursday saw a voter turnout of nearly 43 per cent till 11 am, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, a poll panel official said.

A total of 2.36 lakh electors — 1,21,300 men, 1,15,135 women and nine third gender individuals — are eligible to exercise their franchise in the repoll, which started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

The Election Commission doubled the security arrangements for the repoll after the April 29 polling in the seat was countermanded over allegations of large-scale EVM tampering.

Around 35 companies of the central forces are manning the 285 polling booths to ensure smooth voting. Additionally, 30 Quick Response Teams are on standby to respond swiftly to any disturbance.

“This time, the polling has been peaceful. There is no untoward incident from anywhere in Falta. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths. Till 11 am, a voter turnout of 42.83 per cent has been registered. This is a good show,” the poll panel official told PTI.

A large number of voters were seen queuing outside the 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency since early morning.

Although officially six candidates are in the fray for the seat, Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan, a couple of days ago, announced that he would not contest the poll, a decision the party described as his personal.

Political tensions remained high in the constituency since polling on April 29, when complaints surfaced from multiple booths alleging that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs, which ultimately led to the countermanding of the polls.

Voting began on Thursday, May 21, morning for the re-election to the Falta assembly seat in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, amid tight security, officials said.

More than 2.36 lakh people, including 1.15 lakh women and nine belonging to the third gender, are eligible to cast their votes across 285 booths in this re-election, which commenced at 7 am, they said.

The repoll was ordered due to “severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process” on April 29, when voting in Falta was held in the second phase of the assembly elections, the officials said.

A total of six candidates are in the fray, including TMC’s Jahangir Khan, who announced he was withdrawing from the race on Tuesday.

Even as Khan announced pulling out from the contest, his name remained on the EVMs as he couldn’t officially withdraw his candidature. Among other candidates are Debangshu Panda of the BJP, CPI(M)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi, and Congress’ Abdur Razzak Molla.

A total of 35 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been deployed for the repoll, with eight personnel, equivalent to one full section, at each booth, the officials said.

On April 29, only four personnel, or half a section, had been stationed at each booth, they added.

Additionally, 30 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) are on standby to respond swiftly to any disturbance.

Political tensions have remained high in the constituency since allegations surfaced from multiple booths that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs during the earlier polling.

Former Special Observer of the Election Commission, Subrata Gupta, had visited the constituency and conducted a scrutiny, following which evidence of alleged tampering was detected in at least 60 booths.

Apart from the alleged EVM manipulation, authorities also found attempts to tamper with footage captured by web cameras installed at several polling stations.

Questions were subsequently raised over the role of booth-level officers (BLOs), presiding officers, polling personnel and election observers.

The TMC has won the Falta seat since 2001, barring the 2006 assembly polls, when the CPI(M) had bagged the seat.