Army Jawans keeping vigil at Chowringhee area ahead of the assembly bypolls in Kolkata. (Press Trust of India)
Amid allegations by the BJP and the CPI-M of attacks by Trinamool Congress goons, brisk polling was reported for the assembly by-elections in West Bengal on Saturday.
"About 50 per cent voting in Basirhat (South) and 31 per cent from Chowringhee was reported till 1 pm," an Election Commission official said.
Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have accused the ruling Trinamool of attacking their workers and resorting to bogus voting in a few booths at Chowringhee.
BJP's Chowringhee candidate Ritesh Tiwari alleged that some of his party workers were attacked when they tried to stop Trinamool supporters from casting bogus votes in two booths.
Amit Ray Chaudhury, officer on special duty with the chief electoral officer, said the poll panel has taken suo motu cognisance of the scuffle and directed the district election officer to file a report.
CPI-M candidate Faiyaz Ahmed Khan too accused Trinamool activists of attacking a party camp resulting in injuries to at least six workers, including two women.
"Six of our workers, including two women, were injured when Trinamool goons attacked our camp office," Mr Khan said, adding that the party would approach the poll panel with a complaint.
The Chowringhee by-poll follows the resignation of Trinamool Congress legislator Sikha Mitra, who won the 2011 election but quit the party. Then, the Trinamool had joined hands with the Congress for the poll battle.
A total of 200,256 electors spread across 222 polling stations have to choose from nine candidates in Chowringhee - Trinamool's Nayna Bandyopadhyay, BJP's Ritesh Tiwari, Congress' Santosh K Pathak, CPI-M's Faiyaz Ahmad Khan and five independents.
The death of CPI-M legislator Narayan Mukherjee necessitated polling in Basirhat (South), which came into being in 2011. Around 235,843 people are eligible to vote here in 286 polling stations.
The five-cornered contest pits CPI-M's Mrinal Chakraborty against former Indian football captain and Trinamool contestant Dipendu Biswas, Congress' Asit Majumdar and BJP's Samik Bhattacharya. There is also a Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C) candidate.
The BJP's poll plank in Basirhat is infiltration from Bangladesh and the party fielded some of its top leaders, including national President Amit Shah, during the campaign. The CPI-M and the Congress meanwhile relied on door-to-door campaigning and holding small meetings.
The Trinamool deployed a host of ministers and senior leaders, as also several Bengali actors to woo the voters. However, its supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stayed away from campaigning.