Alipurduar: Vote percentage stands at 75.54% till 5 pm

Alipurduar: Alipurduar painted a festive picture revolving around Lok Sabha (LS) polls, a stark contrast to neighbouring Cooch Behar.

At 5 pm the polling percentage recorded stood at 75.54 per cent. The day started with a cloudy sky and a mild breeze that was a welcome relief for the voters waiting in queues. There was a significant crowd at the polling stations across various areas, including tea gardens, since morning. TMC candidate Prakash Chik Baraik cast his vote at booth number 10/31 of Newlands Tea Garden Primary School after worshipping at the Radha Govinda Temple in Kumaragram. He then toured different parts of the constituency.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate Manoj Tigga cast his vote at Singhania Tea Garden Primary School. Despite initial malfunctions with EVMs or VVPATs at several booths in the Alipurduar district, voters remained patient even after standing for hours. Shops in every town in the district remained closed throughout the day. Overall, the voting was conducted in a festive mood in the district.

Tea workers were encouraged to vote in the 63 tea gardens of the district. Voting in municipal areas continued past six in the evening. Although polling ended on time in the majority of booths, there were delays in booths where EVMs or VVPATs malfunctioned.

TMC alleged that due to EVM malfunctions, several voters were unable to cast their votes. Sourav Chakraborty, TMC State General Secretary, stated, “More than 20 EVMs malfunctioned for 3-4 hours in polling booths, causing voters to suffer. We have lodged a complaint with the ECI regarding this.”

Meanwhile, BJP alleged that their polling agents were unable to enter polling stations at Tulshi Para TG booth numbers 14/21, 14/22, 14/23, and 14/24. Manoj Tigga, the BJP candidate, commented, “Overall, polling was peaceful. Although some EVMs were not working initially, they were later corrected by the ECI.

Sashi Panja of the TMC taking to X stated: “Manoj Tigga couldn’t even muster a single polling agent in his own booth in Alipurduar? Where’s the hiding place now? Empty booths or empty excuses?”

In the Alipurduar constituency, there are a total of 11 candidates contesting. The voter strength is 17,73,252 voters and 1867 booths, with 7000 polling personnel deployed.