West Bengal Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 2 LIVE: Over 15% Voter Turnout So Far In 3 Seats; BJP Worker's Son Found Dead In Medinipur

Polling for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections is currently underway in three constituencies of North Bengal. The overall voter turnout, as of 1 pm, stands at 47.29%.

The voting process commenced at 7 am and is expected to continue till 6 pm.

The three constituencies voting today are Darjeeling, Balurghat and Raiganj.

As of 1 pm, the poll percentage in Raigang is 47.56%, in Darjeeling is 49.09% and in Balurghat is 44.93%.

While polling is underway, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar and TMC workers in Balurghat were spotted getting into an altercation. The BJP leader was also faced by several “Go back” slogans.

In the first phase of the polls, another three key constituencies from Bengal had gone for polling, which included Alipurduar, Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri.

While incidents of violence marred the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal, a voter turnout of 77% was noted till 5 pm. Several injuries were also reported as TMC and BJP workers clashed mostly in the violence-prone Cooch Behar seat.

West Bengal Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 2: Polling Updates

• BJP candidate from Darjeeling Raju Bista raised a complaint stating that in some booths of Chopra, Darjeeling, the party’s polling agents were not allowed.
• An altercation took place between West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar and TMC workers in Balurghat. Majumdar alleged that a large number of TMC workers were present at a polling booth. On the other hand, “Go back” slogans were also heard against Majumdar.

• The ruling TMC took to their X account and alleged that the central forces, deployed to secure free elections, are ‘sabotaging democracy in Bengal’. They further claimed that in Balurghat’s Municipality Ward No. 9, voting had to be stopped after the forces unleashed a brutal assault on the voters.
• As per claims made by the TMC, over 60 complaints have been raised in the 2nd phase of polling, till 8 am. Among these complaints, a majority are from Raiganj and Balurghat and over 90% of complaints comprised of EVM issues and malfunction.
• Apart from EVM-VVPAT issues, complaints were also raised over the conduct of central forces, who were seen obstructing voters at several places, the Trinamool Congress claimed.
• The state BJP has claimed that one of their workers has been hanged by TMC in Mednipur’s Moyna. The party worker, identified as Dinabandhu Dhananjoy Midda was allegedly hanged to death by ‘TMC goons’, the saffron party claimed.
• Voters queued up outside a polling station in Balurghat, to vote in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls.

• BJP State President Sukanto Majumdar claimed that in some places like Itahar in Raiganj, voters were stopped from going to booth .
• The Trinamool Congress claimed that the CAPF is disturbing and trying to influence voters in Raiganj and Balurghat .
• 272 companies of CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) have been instructed to take quick action in case of any disturbance on polling day, an election official said.
• The poll body will deploy 73 companies of central forces at Balurghat, 60 in Raiganj, 51 each in Darjeeling and Islampur, 21 in Siliguri, and 16 in Kalimpong. Each company comprises around 100 personnel.
• Along with the central forces, around 12,983 state police personnel will be deployed.
• The Election Commission of India stated that 98% of the polling stations in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal are “critical”. Central forces will be deployed at all polling stations in these seats.
• The key issues in the Darjeeling seat are separate statehood for Gorkhaland, water shortage, landslides and soil erosion and tea workers’ issues.
• The second phase of the elections will witness a total of 51,17,955 voters from the three constituencies of Bengal. Around 26,07,389 men, 25,10,356 women and 210 third-gender are eligible to exercise their franchise in 5,298 polling stations.

DARJEELING CONSTITUENCY

The Darjeeling hills are gearing up for another election amidst the rising focus on the long-pending demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. Popularly known as the queen of the hills, Darjeeling is known for its tea, timber and tourism industries.

The constituency is currently up for a four-cornered contest with sitting BJP MP Raju Bista contesting against party MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who is now running as an independent after his demand to field a “Bhumiputra” was not accepted by the BJP leadership. Bista, who is has the support of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), aims for a second term.

Meanwhile, the TMC has nominated Gopal Lama, supported by Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

RAIGANJ CONSTITUENCY

In Raiganj, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Kartick Paul against Trinamool Congress’ Krishna Kalyani, who was earlier a BJP MLA and had switched over to the TMC.

The constituency was once known as a Congress stronghold and backyard of the late former union minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi.

In 2021 Assembly polls, the Trinamool scored five out of seven seats, including Islampur, Goalpokhar, Chakulia, Karandighi and Hemtabad (SC). The BJP won two – Kaliaganj (SC) and Raiganj.

BALURGHAT CONSTITUENCY

The Balurgat Lok Sabha seat, located in Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur district will witness a electoral contest between BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who seeks re-election and TMC candidate Biplab Mitra, who is currently a member of the TMC ministry.

Majumdar made his electoral debut in 2019 and had secured 5,39,317 votes, establishing a lead of 33,293 votes and wresting the seat from TMC’s Arpita Ghosh. Once a stronghold of Left Front constituent RSP, which won the seat consecutively from 1984 to 2009, Balurghat is also pitted for a three-cornered contest with Left-Congress alliance candidate Joydep Siddhanta in the fray.

In 2021 assembly polls, out of the seven assembly segments in the Balurghat constituency, four were won by the TMC and three by the BJP.

(with agency inputs)

Explore Live updates on the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 2 In regions, including Kerala , Karnataka , Noida , and West Bengal . Stay informed about key constituencies, voting trends, and candidate insights. Get Lok Sabha Election 2024 Related Real-Time Updates At News18 Website.