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Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) Amid continuous rainfall, polling is underway for the bypolls to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in the Nadia district of West Bengal, with a 10.83 voting percentage recorded in the first two hours.

An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that the low percentage of polling was due to the bad weather and rains that had prompted many voters to wait till the weather conditions improved.

However, many of the voters were heard complaining that the conditions of approach-ways to some polling stations, which were already in bad shape, worsened further following the rain, which prompted many voters to refrain from going to the booths.

Following complaints of irregularities in certain booths in the very first hour, the election-related officials, accompanied by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, started taking action to address those complaints.

The Election Commission of India-appointed officers, along with CAPF personnel, were seen removing political posters and placards displayed in any area within 100 meters of a radius around the polling booths.

The commission-appointed officials, this time, were extremely strict in not allowing the voters to enter the polling booths carrying their mobiles. The voters, who reached the polling stations carrying mobile phones, had to deposit these at the designated counters within the polling premises, which were manned by volunteers.

At the time the report was filed, the candidates of the three main political parties in the fray, namely Trinamool Congress, BJP, and Left Front-supported, had completed the process of casting their own votes.

After casting his vote, Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh said that although in the first hour, there were complaints of his polling agents being forced out of the polling station, later the problems were addressed promptly by ECI officials. “I hope that such security arrangements continue throughout the day and the entire polling process is peaceful,” he said.

BJP candidate Ashish Ghosh said that even in the midst of tight security arrangements, there had been complaints of intimidation of his polling agents by Trinamool Congress activists.

However, the allegations were dismissed by Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed. “If the BJP does not have enough party workers to provide polling agents, then it is not our headache. We cannot provide agents on BJP’s behalf,” she said.

Kaliganj is one of the five Assembly constituencies in four Indian states where bypolls are being held on Thursday.

Bypolls to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency were necessitated following the sudden demise of its erstwhile Trinamool Congress legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed in February this year at the age of 70.

The counting will be on June 23.

--IANS

src/dpb