WB: In viral clip, woman purportedly seen helping voter inside polling booth

Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) [India], July 11 (ANI): During repolling for West Bengal panchayats in over 600 booths on Monday, a clip went viral where a woman was purportedly seen helping another cast her vote as she stood with her through the entire process in the vouting cubicle.

The viral clip was from a polling booth at Jummagachh in Jalpaiguri district, where repolling was conducted following allegations of violence, booth capturing, intimidation and using of arms during the previous polling day — July 8.
Repolling was held in a total of 697 booths across five districts — Purulia, Birbhum, Jalpaiguri, Nadia and South 24 Parganas.

The State Election Commission (SEC), in an official release earlier, had stated, “The West Bengal State Election Commision in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by sub-section-3 and sub-section-4 of Section-67 of the said Act, hereby fixes 10th day of July 2023, as the date of taking the fresh polls at 7:00 hours to be continued upto 17:00 hours uninterruptedly till completion and direct the District Panchayat Election Officer to fix the polling station at which polls will be taken.”

Earlier, on Sunday, alleging ballot rigging in the July 8 polls, which is marred by violence and deaths, BJP MP Khagen Murmu called for repolling at all centres, claiming that presiding officers and election staff were engaged in proxy voting in favour of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The BJP’s state general secretary, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, too, wrote to the state poll panel, demanded fresh polling.

There were reports of booth capturing, damage to ballot boxes and assault of presiding officers from several districts, including Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia, during the July 8 polls.