Women voters outnumber men in all 5 Assam LS seats where voting is underway
Guwahati (PTI): Women, who outnumber male voters in all the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam going to polls in the first phase, came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise on Friday.
Women were seen queuing up before polling stations from 5 am and most of them said they wanted to cast their vote early so that they could return home and continue with their daily chores.
The total number of women voters in the five constituencies is 43,64,859 compared to 42,82,887 men, while there are 123 from the third gender.
There are, however, only four women candidates in the fray, constituting 11.4 per cent of the total 35 contestants.
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Three of the four candidates, including Congress' Roselina Tirkey and independent aspirant Diluwara Begum Chowdhury, the richest candidate in the first phase, are contesting from Kaziranga constituency, which has 10,25,210 women and 10,24,883 male voters.
Rinku Roy of Gana Sangram Parishad is contesting from Sonitpur which has 8,21,012 women and 8,12,755 men.
Jorhat constituency has 8,78,192 women and 8,48,923 men, Dibrugarh has 8,49,563 women voters and 8,09,990 males and Lakhimpur has 7,90,882 women voters and 7,86,335 males.
Women were seen dressed in their best with seniors in the traditional 'mekhla-chador' and young girls in various outfits waiting eagerly to vote.
Chanda Sonar, who had queued outside a polling booth in Tinsukia's Bengali Girls School, said she still does not have an Aadhaar card as her name has not been updated in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
''The names of all my family members are there in the NRC, but mine is missing. I haven't got the Aadhaar card and as such have been deprived of the benefits of many schemes that the central and state governments are giving to women'', she said.
Pallavi Gohain, a PR professional in New Delhi, said she has come home to Dibrugarh to cast her vote as ''it is my democratic right and I, hopefully, want to see a candidate of my choice in Parliament''.
Housewife Mira Gogoi, 45, of Sibsagar said she has received almost all the schemes from the government and ''I am grateful for it. I have come to vote according to my conscience''.
Puja Tirkey, a member of the tea community who is exercising her franchise at Sarupathar under Kaziranga constituency, said political parties ''woo us during elections with tall promises and forget it for the next five years. I appeal all parties to remember their promises and fulfil those''.
Pragya Borgohain, 20, a first-time voter and a student of Dibrugarh University, said she is excited to cast her vote and has a lot of hopes, particularly related to employment opportunities, and ''I just hope the winning candidate will rise up to our expectations''.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
