Violence mars polls in West Bengal

Overall, 70.82 per cent voters exercised their franchise in six north Bengal districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, and Birbhum in south Bengal. 

In seven constituencies of Birbhum, polling ended early at 4 pm as they were marked as left-wing extremism-affected areas. Voting will go on till 6 pm in the remaining constituencies. 

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who was in Kolkata on Sunday, alleged that booth-capturing and false voting continued in the state. 

Trouble began when the TMC polling agent protested against alleged booth jamming by CPI(M). The two sides clashed outside the booth with the central forces finding it difficult to control them, polling officials said. Polling was stalled for 45 minutes and later began as additional central forces were rushed to the area to control the situation. TMC polling agent Asraful Hossain was beaten up at a booth in Chanchol constituency in Malda district allegedly by Chanchol ex-pradhan Maqbul Hossain of Congress, polling officials said. 

Earlier in the morning, a clash between BJP and TMC workers left eight persons injured in Dumrut village of Birbhum at around 6 am before polling began, an EC report said.