Muslim voters were not allowed to vote in Rejinagar, BJP rigging in Nandigram: Report

As the by-elections progress across three states and one Union Territory on Tuesday, allegations of large-scale rigging by BJP workers have emerged from West Bengal’s Nandigram, where Muslim voters claimed that they were not allowed to cast their votes despite having ink applied to their fingers, while women voters alleged that BJP workers snatched their voter slips amid reports of booth capturing in Muslim-dominated areas.

The Nandigram contest attracted particular attention after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who had won from two constituencies in the state elections earlier this year, chose to retain Bhabanipur and vacate Nandigram.

By 1 pm, voter turnout had reached 60.32 per cent in Nandigram and 56.435 per cent in Rejinagar, while the figures stood at 43.95 per cent and 38.71 per cent respectively by 11 am. Earlier, at 9 am, Nandigram had recorded a turnout of 20.89 per cent, compared with 18.05 per cent in Rejinagar.

In Rejinagar, Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir was detained at his party office following a heated exchange with police over polling-day protocols. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, is contesting the seat on the AJUP ticket, while local reporters alleged that at least 25 polling stations in Muslim-dominated areas had been captured.

Several Muslim voters in Rejinagar claimed that election officials merely applied indelible ink to their fingers and prevented them from actually casting their ballots, while female voters alleged that BJP workers had snatched their voter slips, forcing them to return home without voting. The allegations prompted Azad to question the purpose of the by-election if voters were being prevented from exercising their franchise.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders alleged voter intimidation, booth capturing, proxy voting and EVM malfunctioning at several polling stations in Nandigram, claiming that complaints had repeatedly been sent to the police and the general observer seeking immediate intervention.

In Tamil Nadu, polling was taking place in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies, where turnout had crossed 55 per cent by 1 pm. In Puducherry’s Thattanchavady constituency, more than half of the electorate had voted by the same time, with 11 candidates in the fray.

In Assam, polling began at 7 am for the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, where the BJP, Congress and AIUDF are engaged in a triangular contest. More than 17 per cent of the 19.05 lakh electors had voted by 9 am, as polling continued across the constituency.