The Election Commission has issued orders for the conducting of repolls at one polling station each in the Barasat and Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal. This decision comes just a day before the scheduled counting of votes.
According to the directives from the election authority, the repolling will take place at two specific locations: 61 Kadambagachi Saradar Pada FP School, Room No 2 of 120-Deganga Assembly Constituency in the 17 Barasat Parliamentary Constituency, and 26 Aaddir Mahal Srichaitanya Bidyapith FP School of 131-Kakdwip Assembly Constituency in the 20-Mathurapur (SC) Parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal.
The Election Commission, in a letter addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, stated, “I am directed to state that on the basis of reports received from the concerned RO/the concerned DEO/the Observers of 17-Barasat PC and 20-Mathurapur (SC) PC regarding poll taken for General Election to Lok Sabha for West Bengal State, 2024, held on 1 June, 2024 and after taking all material circumstances into account, the Commission, hereby declares under sub-section (2) of Section 58 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that the poll taken on 1 June, 2024 for aforesaid election at the following polling stations (as mentioned in Column 3 of the table below) to be void and appoints 3 June, 2024 as the date and fixes the hours as mentioned in Column (4) of the table below, for taking a fresh poll at the said polling stations in accordance with Commission’s instructions contained in paragraphs 13.62 of Chapter XIII of Hand Book for Returning Officer, 2023.”
During the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, clashes erupted between supporters of Trinamool Congress (TMC), Indian Secular Front (ISF), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) across various areas of the state. An alleged clash occurred between Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters at Bayarbari in West Bengal’s Basirhat. Additionally, a clash broke out between TMC and BJP supporters at Meraganj in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, resulting in several injuries.
In another incident, West Bengal police faced resistance from local women while attempting to arrest an alleged accused in Saturday’s violence in Basirhat’s Sandeshkhali. The police were attempting to apprehend BJP worker Sadhan Nandi.