EC recieves over 100 complaints during bypoll in Bengal, majority of them from Ranaghat

Over 100 complaints of incidents of violence reached the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) during the by-elections to four assembly seats in West Bengal on Wednesday. By 3 pm, the CEO's office had received 91 complaints, of which 61 were from Ranaghat-South assembly constituency in Nadia district. The number was even higher by 6 pm.

The situation worsened in Kolkata's Maniktala area when BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey allegedly caught hold of a fake voter and chased him. Soon Chaubey was surrounded by a group of Trinamool workers who raised "go back" slogans. They alleged that the BJP candidate was trying to create tension in the area unnecessarily while the polling process was completely peaceful.

Later, BJP supporters staged a protest in front of the Phool Bagan police station against the incident. BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should have been more proactive in preventing such malpractices.

He said the election process has become a joke in many places. But this cannot go on forever and in the coming days, there will be a mass movement against the ruling party. Also, I had expected a more active role from the commission.