- Three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal recorded over 60 per cent voting till 3 pm
- Darjeeling continued to record the highest voter turnout of 61.97 per cent, while Raiganj and Balurghat registered 60.20 per cent and 59.53 per cent polling, respectively
- Till 2.15 pm, the poll panel received 411 complaints from the three parliamentary constituencies
- Three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal recorded over 47 per cent voting till 1 pm in the second phase of polling
- Darjeeling recorded the highest voter turnout of 49.09 per cent, while Raiganj and Balurghat registered 47.56 per cent and 44.93 per cent polling, respectively
- "Polling is peaceful and there is no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the parliamentary constituencies," an official said
- Over 31 per cent of 51.17 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 11 am in three Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal, an Election Commission official said. Darjeeling recorded the highest voter turnout of 32.75 per cent, while Raiganj and Balurghat registered 32.51 per cent and 28.11 per cent polling, respectively.
- The commission has so far received 290 complaints, mostly related to EVM malfunctioning, the official said.
- Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign meeting in Maldah while second phase polling is on
- 241 complaints lodged with the ECI in the first two hours of polling
- Nearly 15.7 per cent of 51.17 lakh voters in three Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal exercised their franchise till 9 am.
- Raiganj registered the highest voter turnout of 16.46 per cent, while Darjeeling recorded 15.74 per cent and Balurghat 14.74 per cent, till 9 am
- Raigunj: Trinamul supporters raise slogans against Left-supported Congress candidate Ali Imran Ramz
- Sukanto Majumdar: Candidates can enter booths. These people (Trinamul supporters). Our agent Tapan Burman was assaulted, the police did not intervene.
- Trinamul alleges, Majumdar trying to incite trouble
- Altercation between BJP state president and Balurghat MP and candidate Dr Sukanto Majumdar and police at a polling booth in Balurghat. Trinamul supporters shout "go back" slogans.
Screengrab from ABP Ananda
- I will complain about you. You will lose your job. Two inspectors-in-charge are under suspension: Majumdar threatens police officer
- Raigunj: Family of a Congress supporter in ward 20 of Raigunj municipality allege a man was assaulted for sitting in the Congress booth camp
- Trinamul complains of Electronic Voting Machines malfunction in number of booths in Balurghat and Raigunj
- EVM glitches reported from some booths in Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat's Matigara-Naxalbari and Fansideowa
- BJP state president Dr Sukanto Majumdar contesting from Balurghat alleges Trinamul trying to influence voters with cash
Darjeeling donned saffron colours 15 years ago when the BJP’s Jaswant Singh, backed by the undivided Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, won the seat, bucking the national trend as the UPA-led by the Congress made a triumphant return in Delhi.
A lot has changed since then. One, the BJP, led ny Narendra Modi, has had a mercurial rise in the last ten years. Two, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha is a fragmented lot and no longer the only outfit calling the shots in the Hills.
TTO Graphics.
The second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Bengal feature Darjeeling, along with the two seats of Balurghat and Raigunj. All the three seats went to the BJP in the 2019 like in the rest of the North Bengal districts, barring the one seat of Maldah South.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar is seeking re-election from Balurghat in South Dinajpur, while in adjoining North Dinajpur’s Raigunj, the BJP has fielded rookie Kartik Chandra Pal.
Breaking a self-imposed tradition, the BJP, which has always dropped the incumbent from the Darjeeling seat, the party has re-nominated sitting MP Raju Bista.
In this election season, Darjeeling so far has been a minor embarrassment for the BJP as its own legislator from Kalimpong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, has rebelled against Bista’s nomination and is contesting as an Independent, though Bista has the conditional support of the Bimal Gurung led GJM.
The Trinamul Congress, which had fielded retired footballer Bhaichung Bhutia a decade ago, has given the ticket to Gopal Lama, who has the support of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, led by Hill leader Anit Thapa, which runs the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
Munish Tamang of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh is contesting from the seat on a Congress ticket and also has the backing of the Hamro Party and the Left.