Gunshots were allegedly fired and one person injured in a scuffle that broke out during elections to a cooperative society near Nowda in Murshidabad on Thursday morning.

Voting for the cooperative society elections at Chandpur village had commenced around 10am on Thursday. Shortly after the voting began, a gunshot was reportedly heard from an area less than 300m from the election booth at the Patikabari High School.

To ensure peaceful polls, the administration had clamped Section 144 in the vicinity of the polling station and SDO (Behrampore) had been been assigned the task of supervising the process.

“There was a scuffle in the vicinity of the polling station, but it did not disrupt the election process and we doubt it was related. One local journalist was injured when he went to see what was going on,” said an official.

Although police and Trinamul Congress leaders tried to play down the allegations of bullets being fired to scare away voters and electoral malpractice, Left-Congress candidates withdraw from the elections in protest against the violence. Leaders of the Left Front and the Congress said they would move Calcutta High Court for reelections.

Nowda Congress leader Musharraf Hussain said the voting process was marred by the use of firearms and violence.

“We will appeal before the high court to seek reelections,” Hussain said.

The elections on Thursday saw 981 members cast votes for the nine seats that Trinamul candidates won defeating those of the Left-Congress combine.

The elections were held following directives of Calcutta High Court to Behrampore subdivisional officer to complete the election process by the end of this year. The Congress had moved the court earlier this year with the complaint that local Trinamul leaders were stonewalling the elections.

Trinamul, however, rejected the Opposition’s allegation that the ruling party had resorted to violence to win the polls.

Trinamul MP Abu Taher Khan said: “The violence was not related to the elections. The violence took place at a distance from the polling station. Our supporters were not involved in the incident. The Opposition knew they would lose the polls and were levelling false allegations.”

The police also denied that shots were fired during the polls.

“The election was completed peacefully and counting was over by 4pm,” said the additional superintendent of police, Murshidabad, Subimal Pal.

The injured journalist, Aftabuddin, 42, was admitted to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital.