Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo and Bhabanipur contender Mamata Banerjee alleged on Wednesday that forces were working to “bulldoze democracy,” accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) and CRPF of overtly targeting her party’s workers with harassment and intimidation in multiple Kolkata areas. Voting kicked off without hitches in 142 seats spanning South Bengal.
“We want peaceful elections and want people to cast their votes peacefully. Various police officers have been brought in. The whole night they have been torturing and threatening people. There is torture across Bengal and observers have created an environment of fear,” Banerjee said.
“At night, CRPF personnel without state police and local police went to the residence of our councillor Babai. His wife was alone with the child. Her mobile phone was snatched, and she was threatened that Babai should not work,” she alleged.
“We have sent a contempt of court notice, yet police observers have been brought in here. They are clearly working according to the BJP,” Banerjee said.
“If you go to Chakraberia, you will see that all our posters have been removed. Is this the way elections are meant to be conducted? It is not the police and security forces, but the people who will cast their vote,” Banerjee said.
The second-phase polling in Bengal started on a peaceful note, with early turnout figures noted until 9:30 am. A single violent episode surfaced in Nadia, where a BJP polling agent suffered injuries in an assault. In Arambagh, tensions flared into a skirmish involving Trinamool Congress and ISF supporters.
Among the 1,448 contestants in the fray, 220 are women and 1,228 men.
