Bengal: Falta repoll sees over 60 pc polling till 1 pm; voting peaceful

A repoll in West Bengal's Falta Assembly constituency saw a voter turnout of over 60 per cent by 1 pm, with no reported incidents of disturbance or EVM tampering.

The repoll in the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal on Thursday saw a voter turnout of over 60 per cent till 1 pm, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, a poll panel official said.

A total of 2.36 lakh electors -- 1,21,300 men, 1,15,135 women and nine third gender individuals -- are eligible to exercise their franchise in the repoll, which started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

The Election Commission doubled the security arrangements for the repoll after the April 29 polling in the seat was countermanded over allegations of large-scale EVM tampering.

Around 35 companies of the central forces are manning the 285 polling booths to ensure smooth voting. Additionally, 30 Quick Response Teams are on standby to respond swiftly to any disturbance.

''Polling has remained peaceful in Falta. We have not received a single report of any problem from anywhere in the constituency. Till 1 pm, 60.43 per cent of polling has been registered,'' the poll panel official told PTI.

A large number of voters were seen queuing outside the 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency since early morning.

Although officially six candidates are in the fray for the seat, Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan, a couple of days ago, announced that he would not contest the poll, a decision the party described as his personal.

Political tensions remained high in the constituency since polling on April 29, when complaints surfaced from multiple booths alleging that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs, which ultimately led to the countermanding of the polls.