Bengal elections phase 7 voting for 34 seats today, 284 candidates in fray

Over 86 lakh voters in West Bengal will resolve the political destiny of 284 candidates on Monday, when 34 meeting constituencies, together with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence turf Bhabanipur, go to polls in the seventh phase, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19. Security measures have been heightened in view of the violence in the earlier phases, significantly the dying of 5 folks in Cooch Behar in the fourth spherical of polling on April 10, an Election Commission official mentioned.

Bengal elections phase 7 polling on Monday

• The ballot panel has determined to deploy no less than 796 corporations of central forces in the seventh phase to make sure free and truthful voting, he mentioned.
• It will even put in place measures to make sure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols through the voting course of, the official mentioned.
• West Bengal on Saturday registered its highest-single-day spike of 14,281 coronavirus circumstances, which took the tally to 7,28,061, and no less than 59 extra folks succumbed to the an infection, pushing the toll to 10,884.
• Voting might be held at 12,068 polling stations unfold over 9 meeting constituencies every in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman districts, six every in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda and 4 in Kolkata, the official mentioned.
• All eyes might be on the Bhabanipur constituency, of which the TMC supremo is the sitting MLA and a resident.

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• Banerjee, nevertheless, has opted for Nandigram to contest the elections this time and reposed religion in veteran politician and state energy minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to make a hat-trick of wins for the get together from Bhabanipur.
• Chattopadhyay is pitted in opposition to a seasoned actor however a greenhorn in electoral politics, Rudranil Ghosh, who left the ruling get together a number of months in the past to affix the BJP.
• State minister Firhad Hakim can also be looking for re-election for a 3rd consecutive time period from the Kolkata Port constituency, whereas the BJP fielded Lt General (Retired) Subrata Saha from the Rashbehari seat in the metropolis.
• Campaigning for the seventh phase has been a low-key affair, following curbs imposed by the EC in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 circumstances in the state.

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• Following the surge in coronavirus circumstances throughout the nation, the EC has banned roadshows and automobile rallies in the state and famous that the COVID security norms had been being flouted in West Bengal throughout campaigning.
• It additionally disallowed any public assembly with greater than 500 folks.
• The Election Commission has curtailed every day marketing campaign hours and prolonged the “silence period” from 48 hours to 72 in every of the remaining three phases of the meeting polls in view of the Cooch Behar violence and the rising COVID-19 circumstances.
• The TMC chief and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who’s the get together MP, cancelled all their scheduled rallies and held them on the digital platform as did Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23.
• Polling for two meeting seats in Samserganj and Jangipur in Murshidabad district has been declared void following the deaths of two candidates there.
• The Election Commission has fastened May 16 for the polling in these two seats.

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