Bengal: Sensitive Basirhat under ECI's special scanner

Kolkata, May 31 (IANS) As sporadic violence marred the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, sensitive Basirhat, especially Sandeshkhali, is under special scanner of the Election Commission of India, where polling will be held in the seventh and the last phase of the elections on Saturday.

Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal said that out of the total number 1,882 polling booths under Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, 1,096 are sensitive, implying that over 58 per cent of the booths under it are sensitive.

Basirhat has more sensitive booths compared to all other eight constituencies in the state going to the polls tomorrow.

CEO office sources said that out of the seven assembly constituencies under Basirhat Lok Sabha, Sandeshkhaliwill be under special scanner, which grabbed the national headlines again and again during the last few months because of the sustained movement by the local women there against sexual harassment by a section of the local ruling Trinamool Congress leaders.

The CEO office sources said that any untoward incident at Basirhat, especially Sandeshkhali, on the polling day will once again create a nationwide uproar.

“That is why the commission has kept Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency under special scanner. As many as 116 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed for Basirhat alone on the polling day,” the sources said.

The BJP has fielded the face of the Sandeshkhali movement Rekha Patra as the candidate from Basirhat.

Even the CPI(M) candidate Nirapada Sardar, a former party legislator from Sandeshkhali, grabbed the headlines recently for organising the local people to protest against complaints of illegal land grabbing, extortion and sexual harassment.

Trinamool Congress has fielded Haji Nurul Islam, who was Basirhat MP (2009 and 2014).

In Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in South 24 Parganas district, of the total of 1,879 booths, 686 are sensitive.

Of the seven assembly constituencies under Jadavpur, the most sensitive is Bhangar, which has prolonged records of poll-related violence.

–IANS

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