As the voting for the fifth phase began on Monday, BJP candidate from Barrackpore Arjun Singh alleged that he sustained injuries after he was attacked by supporters of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress near a village in Barrackpore (West Bengal).
“I was attacked by TMC goons while I was trying to talk with voters. It was a planned attack and I will report the matter to the Election Commission. TMC’s hooligans are running unchecked in the state, my bleeding mouth is a proof of it,” Singh told reporters.
West Bengal: Arjun Singh, BJP candidate from Barrackpore alleges that he was attacked by TMC workers, says,”I was attacked by TMC goons who have been brought from outside. Those people were scaring away our voters. I am injured.”#IndiaDecides2019 https://t.co/2wHVBjnjOs pic.twitter.com/xOuaXzVEsf
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) May 6, 2019
Slamming the ruling TMC, Singh said he was attacked by TMC goons who have been brought from outside. “Those people were scaring away our voters. I am injured,” he said.
Meanwhile, voters in booth number 148 of Hajipur constituency in Bihar had to face problems as the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) developed problems leading to delay in the start of the voting process. The voters complained they had to stand for more than an hour due to the EVMs developing problems.
Raj Narayan Mahto, Presiding Officer (PO) of booth 148, however, said that the EVM had developed some glitches which were resolved in an hour and the voting process could begin soon.
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“There was some problem with the EVM which we tried to solve but it took longer than usual. The machines do not need to be changed as the problems have now been sorted, voting will resume in a few minutes,” Mahto told news agency ANI.
A voting glitch was also reported from booths in West Bengal’s Howrah, reportedly after glitches in EVMs and VVPATs.
Voting in Hooghly, Sreerampore, Arambagh, Howrah Uluberia, Barrackpore and Bongaoan is ongoing in the fifth phase. These constituencies are spread across three districts of south Bengal – Hooghly, Howrah and North 24 Parganas. Polling has already been held in 18 seats of the state in the past four phases.
Besides that, voting is underway in some seats of in Bihar (5), Jammu and Kashmir (2), Jharkhand (4), Madhya Pradesh (7), Rajasthan (12), Uttar Pradesh (14). Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
(With ANI inputs)