8 LS seats go to polls in Bengal in 6th phase

Kolkata: The Election Commission is putting foolproof measures in place for fair and peaceful voting in the sixth phase of elections in Bengal on Sunday. An electorate of around 1,33,56,964 will decide the fate of 83 candidates spread over eight Parliamentary constituencies that are going to the polls.

Elections will be held in Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST), Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur (SC). Among the 83 candidates in the poll fray, only five are women.

As per the final deployment pattern decided by the Commission, 743 companies of the Central Forces will be deployed on Sunday which will ensure 100 percent coverage of the 15,428 booths. The highest deployment of the Central Forces which is 190 will be for the East Midnapore district. Bankura will have 145 companies, Jhargram 114, Paschim Midnapore will have 174 companies, East Burdwan 11 and Purulia will be given 109 companies.

In addition to deployment of forces at all polling stations and mandatory Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), 547 Quick Action Teams (QATs) headed by Company Commanders and 108 additional QATs headed by Commandants have also been instructed to be on the move.

To ensure full security in the Jangalmahal area, the EC is also planning to use satellite phones and drones.

Districts like Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore which were once hotbed of the Maoists are going to polls and the Commission has identified 1,085 booths spread over 1,011 premises as Maoist-affected and has made special arrangements for them. In the Tamluk seat, the BJP has fielded Siddhartha Shankar Naskar against sitting TMC MP Dibyendu Adhikari. The Left Front constituent CPI(M) has nominated Sk Ibrahim Ali, while the Congress has nominated Lakshman Seth, who was earlier with the CPI(M). In Kanthi, TMC MP Sisir Adhikari is contesting against BJP's Dr Debasis Samanta. The Congress has nominated Deepak Kumar Das and the CPI(M) has nominated Paritosh Pattanayak. In Ghatal, TMC's sitting candidate Deepak Adhikari (Dev) will lock horns with BJP's Bharati Ghosh, a former IPS officer. The Congress has nominated Khandakar Md Saifullah and the Left Front constituent CPI(M) has nominated Tapan Ganguli. In the Jhargram (ST) seat, TMC's Birbaha Soren (Tudu) will contest against Kunar Hembram of the BJP while the Congress has fielded Jageswar Hembram and the CPI(M)'s candidate is Deblina Hembram. Manas Ranjan Bhunia is the TMC candidate from Medinipur and is contesting against BJP's state president Dilip Ghosh. The Congress has nominated Sambhunath Chattopadhyay, while the CPI(M) has fielded Biplab Bhatta. In Purulia, sitting MP Mriganka Mahato of the TMC will contest against BJP's Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato. The Left Front constituent All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has nominated Bir Singh Mahato and the Congress has fielded Nepal Mahato. In Bankura, TMC's Subrata Mukherjee will contest against Dr Subhas Sarkar of the BJP. The CPI(M) has fielded Amiya Patra. This seat will witness a triangular contest. Shyamal Santra of the TMC will contest from Bishnupur (SC) seat against BJP's Saumitra Khan. The CPI(M) has nominated Sunil Khan and the Congress has fielded Narayan Chandra Khan from there.

The Election Commission has ordered re-polling in two poll booths in Barrackpore and Arambag (SC) Parliamentary constituencies on May 12, according to a notification. Both the Parliamentary constituencies voted in the fifth phase on May 6.