Polling began at 7 a.m. in three Maoist-affected southern districts of West Bengal Monday in the first of the five-phase state assembly elections under heavy security in the wake of a boycott call by the rebels. Voters have been turning up in polling booths in large numbers since the morning, defying poll boycott calls by the Maoists.
The first phase, covering 45 constituencies in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts, will decide the electoral fortunes of 227 candidates. The West Bengal assembly has 294 seats.
In West Midnapore, 250 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed and the other two districts have over 150 companies deployed for the polls.
West Midnapore has 21 seats, followed by 13 in Bankura and 11 in Purulia. The number of voters in the three districts is 6.8 million. A total of 7,911 polling booths have been set up.
Medinipur in West Midnapore is the largest constituency with 183,015 voters.
Chief Electoral Officer Debasis Sen said aerial surveillance was being done with helicopters to ensure peaceful polling and instil confidence among voters.
About 3,000 digital cameras were also installed in about 40 percent of the booths to prevent false voting, impersonation and other malpractices, he said.
Sen said a total of 82 general observers and 10 expenses observers were deployed for the 45 constituencies in the first phase.
All eyes would be on the eight Maoist-violence racked constituencies of Binpur, Salbani and Garbeta West in West Midnapore, Banduan in Purulia and Ranibandh, Raipur, Simlapal and Sarenga in Bankura district.
"We will take prompt action in case of any trouble," said Deputy Election Commissioner Ananth Kumar.
Keshpur in West Midnapore, where Rameswar Dolui is the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) candidate, is under the scanner because of a history of political violence in the area. Raids were conducted recently at the CPI-M party office there at the behest of the Election Commission. Opposition Trinamool Congress candidate Ashish Pramanik was arrested recently for beating up a rival member.
Some of the prominent constituencies witnessing polling Monday are Narayangarh, Datan and Nandanpur in West Midnapore.
For the first two seats, state ministers Surya Kanta Mishra (health) and Nandagopal Bhattacharya (minor irrigation) are in the field. Nandanpur would test the electoral luck of ace swimmer Bula Chowdhury who is also fighting on the CPI-M ticket.
The five-phase assembly elections are being held on April 17, 22, 27 and May 2 and 8. The total electorate in West Bengal is 48.9 million.
(IANS)
