29 April,2026 01:21 PM IST | Hooghly | mid-day online correspondent
A clash broke out over allegations of appointing fake polling agents during the West Bengal Assembly Elections, in Ramchandrapur, Hooghly district, on Wednesday. PIC/PTI
Amidst the ongoing second phase polling across 142 constituencies in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) polling agents reportedly clashed at booth numbers 147 and 148 at the Ramchandrapur Adarsha Bidyabhaban polling station in the Khanakul assembly Constituency.
According to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Sub-Inspector Usha, voting in the region has resumed peacefully following the "minor incident".
"It was a minor incident. Right now, voting is taking place in a peaceful manner. CRPF's all-women 240th Battalion is deployed here," she said.
Apart from this incident, several other cases of clashes and violence have been reported from different parts of West Bengal. A violent clash erupted in the morning near the primary high school in the Hatra Bazaar area of Nadia district between workers of TMC and Indian Secular Front (ISF). Several people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Polling percentage in the first four hours till 11 am on Wednesday in the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections stood at 39.97 per cent.
This is slightly lower than the 41.1 per cent recorded in the first four hours of the first phase on April 23. East Burdwan district recorded the highest polling at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent.
The current turnout is substantially higher than the 28.10 per cent average recorded during the same period in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has said that polling booths where any electronic voting machine (EVM) button has been taped will undergo repolling after BJP raised allegations of irregularities in Falta under the Diamond Harbour constituency.
"If reports of taping of any button come in, that should be verified and noted. If true, those booths will go for a repoll," the West Bengal CEO said.
BJP's co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, alleged that voters were prevented from choosing the BJP candidate at several booths in Falta.
In a post on X, Malviya wrote, "This is what Mamata Banerjee was defending when she spoke up for Jehangir Khan, a criminal contesting on a TMC ticket from Falta in Diamond Harbour. In several polling booths, the option to vote for the BJP has been blocked using a tape⦠This is the so-called âDiamond Harbour Model'."
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister called up Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and enquired about the polling progress in the high-profile Bhabanipur constituency, where Adhikari is contesting against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Sporadic tension continues in the hyper-sensitive Bhangar constituency, where an NIA team has also reached.
(With ANI and IANS inputs)
