The Election Commission has mandated repolling at one polling station each in the Barasat and Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal on Monday, just one day before the vote counting.
According to the Commission's order, repolling will be conducted at 61 Kadambagachi Saradar Pada FP School, Room No 2 of the 120-Deganga Assembly Constituency in the 17-Barasat Parliamentary Constituency, and at 26 Aaddir Mahal Srichaitanya Bidyapith FP School of the 131-Kakdwip Assembly Constituency in the 20-Mathurapur (SC) Parliamentary Constituency.
The Election Commission communicated this decision in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal. The letter stated, "I am directed to state that on the basis of reports received from the concerned RO/the concerned DEO/the Observers of 17-Barasat PC and 20-Mathurapur (SC) PC regarding poll taken for General Election to Lok Sabha for West Bengal State, 2024, held on 1 June 2024 and after taking all material circumstances into account, the Commission hereby declares under sub-section (2) of Section 58 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that the poll taken on 1 June 2024 for aforesaid election at the following polling stations (as mentioned in Column 3 of the table below) to be void and appoints 3 June 2024 as the date and fixes the hours as mentioned in Column (4) of the table below, for taking a fresh poll at the said polling stations in accordance with Commission's instructions contained in paragraphs 13.62 of Chapter XIII of Hand Book for Returning Officer, 2023."
The decision follows reports of clashes between supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Indian Secular Front (ISF), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in various areas of the state during the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1.
Notably, a violent confrontation occurred between TMC and BJP workers at Bayarbari in West Bengal's Basirhat amidst the final phase of polling on Saturday. Another clash erupted between TMC and BJP supporters at Meraganj in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, resulting in several injuries.
In a related incident, West Bengal police faced resistance while attempting to arrest an alleged accused in the previous day's violence in Basirhat's Sandeshkhali. The attempt to arrest BJP worker Sadhan Nandi led to a scuffle with local women on Sunday.
