Voter show their identity cards to Central Force jawan before entering a polling booth to cast their vote during Bhawanipur by-polls in Kolkata.
Bhabanipur, Pipli, Jangipur, Samserganj Bypolls Voting HIGHLIGHTS: Polling began at 7:00 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhabanipur seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies amid tight security and stringent COVID-19 measures. The by-polls were being held in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district and Pipili in Odisha. The results of the byelections will be declared on 3 October.
Bhabanipur bypoll has become a prestigious battle for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is presently not an MLA. Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this by-poll to retain the chief minister's post. Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPI(M)'s Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur. Polls had to be countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj in April following the death of two candidates.
Stringent security arrangements were in place in West Bengal's Bhabanipur ahead of the assembly by-election. As many as 15 companies of central forces were deployed. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were also imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.
Bypolls in Bhabanipur, Samserganj, Jangipur, Pipili | HIGHLIGHTS:
6:30 pm | Voting in Bhabanipur assembly seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, with 53.32 per cent turnout till 5:00 pm on Thursday, said officials.6:00 pm | Voting in the Pipili assembly by-poll in Odisha's Puri district has been peaceful with 68.40 per cent turnout till 5:00 PM on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer SK Lohani said.
5:15 pm | Bhabanipur | 2 persons were doing forged voting at a poll booth in a school, we caught them red-handed and informed the police, central forces. Later, some 8-10 bike-borne people attacked me and my car with sticks and stones: Kalyan Chaubey (BJP chief election agent).
5:00 pm | WATCH | West Bengal: A scuffle broke out between BJP and TMC supporters in Bhabanipur assembly constituency, where voting for the by-poll is underway today. BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey's car was allegedly vandalised.
04:20 pm | Trinamool Congress' Sovandeb Chatterjee, who had resigned as an MLA from Bhabanipur so that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could contest from the seat for bypolls, casts his vote. "It's my pleasure to vote for her (Mamata Banerjee). She will win," he says.
03:55 pm | ISKCON Temple monks cast their votes for Bhabanipur bypolls at La Martiniere School in Kolkata. "It is an important vote, it will decide the Chief Minister of the state. People should come forward and vote," a devotee says.
03:30 pm | CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC candidate for Bhabanipur bypoll leaves from Mitra Institution, a polling booth in the assembly constituency, after casting her vote.
03:25 pm | Poll per cent at 3:00 pm
56- Samserganj - 72.45
58- Jangipur - 68.17
159- Bhabanipur - 48.08
2:38 pm | TMC is paying some people to cast a vote, alleges Priyanka Tibrewal, BJP candidate for Bhabanipur by-poll
1:30 pm | Voter turnout of 57.15%, 53.78% and 35.97% recorded till 1 pm in Samserganj, Jangipur polls and Bhabanipur bypoll, respectively
1:18 pm | 45.32% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in Pipili Assembly bypoll 2021
Voting in the Pipili assembly by-poll in Odisha’s Puri district has so far been peaceful with 45.32 per cent turnout till 1 pm on Thursday. There was no report of any untoward incident from the assembly segment.
12:19 pm | Voter turnout of 40.23%, 36.11% and 21.73% recorded till 11 am in Samserganj, Jangipur polls and Bhabanipur bypoll, respectively.
11:26 am | Odisha: Pipli bypoll voting
24.76 % voter turnout recorded till 11 AM in Pipili Assembly bypoll.
10:15 am | Bhabanipur records 7.57 per cent polling till 9 am
Around 7.57 per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, till 9 am on Thursday, Election Commission sources said. During the first two hours, around 16.32 and 17.51 per cent voting was recorded in Samserganj and Jangipur seats in Murshidabad district, they said.
8:28 am | 90-year-old Manobashini Chakrabarty casts her vote in Bhabanipur
7:45 am | TMC MLA purposely shut voting machine, wants to capture the booth, alleges Priyanka Tibrewal
7:24 am | Polling is scheduled to end at 6:30 pm, according to State CEO
7:10 am | Voting begins in Bhabanipur, Jangipur, Samserganj and Odisha's Pipili
7:03 am | Hoping for fair elections: Priyanka Tibrewal, BJP candidate for Bhabanipur by-poll
6:30 am | Temporary polling booth set up at ward number 71 in Bhabanipur for ladies and senior citizens
6:02 am | West Bengal : Bhabanipur set for bypoll today, polling to begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm
