The ruling TMC swept the Contai Cooperative Bank election on Sunday, winning 101 of the total 108 seats. The voting was held earlier in the day with the Central forces deployed in the booths on the direction of the Supreme Court – a first in the history of cooperative elections in the state.
There were reports sporadic incidents of clashes between TMC and BJP working during the voting in Contai town that falls under Purba Medinipur district. The elections began at 9 am amid tight security. There were 430 candidates in fray and over 80,000 enrolled voters.
In a heated verbal altercation at Heriya, the BJP alleged that the TMC workers snatched away the voters’ slips of their supporters, forcing them to take slips handed by the ruling party. Police managed to bring the situation under control soon.
In Kolaghat, a similar incident was reported.
In another incident, the BJP workers blocked a road in Ramnagar alleging that they were beaten up by TMC supporters. As voting progressed at Ramnagar College amid tight security, the BJP alleged that its voters were prevented from entering the polling station and that their voter slips and voter ID cards were taken away.
Voters queue up at a polling booth in Contai town on Sunday (Express)
The BJP further alleged that TMC supporters were beating their supporters in the presence of the police. Local BJP leader Tapan Maiti said, “We will go away only if the administration ensures everyone votes.”
The protesters lifted the blockade only after police reached the spot and assured the safety of voters.
TMC MLA from Ramnagar and former minister Akhil Giri rejected the BJP’s allegations. “There is no news of any violence in Ramnagar. The BJP is trying to spread unrest in the area by making false allegations to sabotage the vote. We want to complete the vote peacefully,” he said.
Some distance from Raghunath Ayurved Mahavidyalaya and Hospital, the Left supporters alleged the Trinamool workers ransacked a booth. Pranab Panda, a CPI(M) area committee member, said, “From morning onwards, we could see Trinamool goons, instead of the Central forces, patrolling the streets. Since our booth was getting a good response, a group of goons came and threw our table and the voters’ list on the streets. This is the type of progress the state is seeing.”
Thanking the Supreme Court for the deployment of Central forces, former MP Sisir Adhikari after casting his vote said: “In the last municipal election, Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections, people could not vote in this area due to the hooliganism and looting by the ruling TMC. I am thankful to the Supreme Court and the judiciary that the Central forces have been deployed to restore faith in the voters.”
Sisir Adhikari is the father Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in Assembly. Suvendu Adhikari has been the chairman of the bank until his removal from the post in August 2021.
At Namal Kaliprasad Vidyalaya, four km from Contai town, the booth was manned by Central forces. Mukteshwar, a 70-year-old voter, said, “Times are changing. So, we have to adapt to the change. I had never seen paramilitary forces for a co-operative bank election, but in the current situation prevailing in the state, this decision has been taken for peaceful voting.”
Meanwhile, local TMC MLA Akhil Giri said: “Voters were very happy for two reasons.One that the polling is taking place after a long time and secondly because they do not have to travel far; the polling centres are close to where they stay.” On the deployment of Central forces, Giri said it was an excuse used by the BJP. “The BJP knew they would lose from the beginning so they asked for the deployment of Central forces”.
Apart from the deployment of central armed forces, a total of 300 CCTV cameras were installed to monitor voting at 14 polling stations.
On December 8, the Tamluk Co-Operative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank election witnessed violence as bombs were hurled.
Voting took place for 69 seats in 12 branches of the bank, including in Haldia, Sutahata, Mahishadal, Maina, Tamluk, and Chandipur. The TMC won 56 of these seats.
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