Mamata Banerjee Calls Governor As BJP, Trinamool Clash At Nandigram Booth

Nandigram:

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dialled Governor Jagdeep Dhankar from Nandigram today amid a face-off with BJP workers. On phone, she told the Governor that “anything might happen at any moment. There is total breakdown of law and order with the people outside being in the area”.

Nandigram — the centrepiece of the Bengal elections where the Chief Minister is facing protege-turned arch rival Suvendu Adhikari — is voting today in the second phase.

The Chief Minister, who was monitoring the proceedings from her home in Nandigram, left around 1 pm as Trinamool leaders complained of booth capture and rigging.

Alleging that goons “from other states are creating ruckus here”, Ms Banerjee said, “I have lodged 63 poll-related complaints since morning, no action has been taken by the Election Commission”.

“People who are raising slogans are outsiders. They came from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They are being protected by Central Forces,” added Ms Banerjee, whose party had written to the Election Commission earlier, requesting that forces from NDA-ruled states not be deployed in Bengal in the interest of free and fair polls. Security personnel from these states, the party alleged, will be partisan.

Voting in Nandigram took place amid multiple allegations of disruptions by the Trinamool Congress.

Senior party leader Derek O’Brien has written to the Election Commission alleging booth capture by BJP workers. “Huge mob of BJP workers have entered booth no.s 6, 7, 49, 27, 162, 21, 26, 13, 262, 256, 163, 20. BJP workers attempting to take control of EVM & rigging the booth,” he wrote.

In the morning, party MP Mohua Moitra tweeted, “More than 150 EVM machines malfunctioning since Phase II voting started this morning Wish @ECISVEEP had put half as much effort into ensuring no EVM  glitches as it did into transferring police officials.”

The Election Commission said that problems relating to voting machines had been largely resolved.