Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Clashes, allegations of voter intimidation and technical glitches marked a turbulent start to the first phase of voting in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.West Bengal phase 1 polls — Follow live updates The tensions began overnight when crude bombs were allegedly hurled near Shivnagar Primary School, injuring at least one person and sparking panic. One victim told news agency ANI, “I had stepped out yesterday to offer Namaz at around 8 pm... I was standing… two boys came and threw a bomb near my foot. Humayun Kabir’s party workers have done this…”. The violence spilled into polling day on Thursdday. A scuffle broke out between Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP) founder Humayun Kabir as he visited the affected area. Kabir, however dismissed the allegations saying, “In Nowda, Rejinagar and all 22 seats of Murshidabad, peaceful elections are taking place. But in 2 booths of Nowda here, in number 9 and number 10, some incident happened overnight. They snatched the bags of local Police.”In Domkal, several voters alleged they were threatened and prevented from reaching polling stations. Residents in Raipur village claimed armed individuals were present since early morning, creating an atmosphere of fear. The allegations were directed at the ruling TMC, which did not immediately respond. The Election Commission sought a report, and later deployed heavy security, escorting voters to booths as polling resumed.EVM malfunctions delayed or halted voting at multiple booths, including in Beldanga, Samsherganj and Kandi in Murshidabad. Similar issues were reported in Nandigram, Malda, Cooch Behar and Siliguri. Congress candidate Sanjoy Adhikari said, “We have already lodged a complaint… Hundreds of voters are already standing in queues… and there’s no EC representative here who can tell us when polls will resume.”Polling across 152 constituencies began at 7am, with a voter turnout of 18.76 per cent recorded by 9 am.
