Over 76 per cent of the electorate in West Bengal’s Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency and 75.3 per cent in the Noapara Assembly seat voted in today’s bypolls, where the ruling TMC is locked in a high voltage battle with the BJP and the CPI-M.
The polling was peaceful, an election official said. “Till the end of polling at 5 pm Uluberia Lok Sabha recorded 76.7 per cent polling whereas Noapara recorded 75.3 per cent. The polling was completely peaceful,” the senior official said.
The poll figure might go up as people were still standing outside a few booths to cast their vote, officials said. The seats are likely to witness a direct contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP, while the CPI(M) is trying hard to hold its ground in its erstwhile bastions. The results of the by-elections will be announced on February 1.
The elections were necessitated by the death of Sultan Ahmed, the sitting TMC MP from Uluberia, and of Madhusudan Ghose, Congress MLA from the Noapara Assembly seat. The TMC, which has held the Uluberia seat since 2009, has fielded Sultan Ahmed’s widow, Sajda, from the constituency.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front nominated Sabiruddin Molla, the Congress fielded S K Madassar Hossain Warsi and the BJP, its district committee leader, Anupam Mallik. Five independent candidates are also in the fray for the Lok Sabha seat.
In Noapara, the TMC has fielded Sunil Singh, the CPI(M), Gargi Chatterjee and the Congress, Goutam Bose. Sandip Banerjee of the BJP is also in the fray. The Uluberia Lok Sabha seat has 15,77,396 voters and the Noapara Assembly seat, 2,46,522 voters.
