BJP candidate Ratna Debnath faced protests from TMC workers at a West Bengal polling booth, highlighting tensions during the ongoing assembly elections.
Key Points
- BJP candidate Ratna Debnath faced protests from TMC workers at a polling booth in West Bengal.
- Debnath accused TMC activists of preventing her from leaving the booth and influencing voters.
- The Election Commission has sought a report into the alleged incident during the West Bengal assembly elections.
- Debnath, mother of RG Kar rape-murder victim, prioritises women's safety in her campaign.
- She believes people will vote for a regime change and end the TMC's misrule in West Bengal.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Panihati candidate Ratna Debnath, also the mother of RG Kar rape-murder victim, faced protests by Trinamool Congress workers when she visited a booth in the assembly constituency in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district where polling was underway on Wednesday.
She also accused the ruling party activists of preventing her from leaving the booth premises, following an altercation with them over an allegation of influencing voters.
Allegations of Voter Intimidation
"When I was coming out of the booth, I noticed an elderly woman who looked infirm and had difficulty walking. I requested those present there to help the person cast her vote. But as I stepped out, TMC activists accused me of influencing the voter and prevented me from leaving the spot," she told reporters.
Central security force jawans helped her leave the place.
She urged the central forces to take action against those who are creating trouble and intimidating voters.
An EC official said the poll panel has sought a report into the alleged incident.
A TMC leader accused Debnath of trying to influence voters and disrupt the election process. "No one threatened her. She was staging a drama," he said.
Debnath's Priorities and Confidence
Earlier in the day, Debnath cast her vote in Sodepur and said women's safety would be her top priority.
She exuded confidence that people would vote for a regime change and free West Bengal from "the misrule of TMC".
"The TMC failed to address the worsening law and order situation in the state. Only one arrest has been made in the RG Kar case. How did the accused get access to a secure place supposedly guarded by hospital security?" she told reporters.
The RG Kar Case and Its Political Impact
Twenty months after the rape and murder of the young doctor inside Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered nationwide outrage, the politics of that crime has caught up with Bengal's election battlefield.
"Apart from my daughter, hundreds of women have also been facing atrocities in West Bengal under the TMC rule. My priority is women's safety," the BJP nominee alleged.
Debnath expressed confidence in winning the seat and said, "We have to ensure that not a single vote is lost."
The BJP candidate alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had tried to hush up the brutal rape and murder of her medic daughter.
She has been fielded against Tirtankar Ghosh, the son of sitting TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, and Communist Party of India-Marxist's Kalatan Dasgupta.
West Bengal Election Details
Voting was underway in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, amid unprecedented security arrangements.
The first phase of the assembly elections in 152 seats on April 23 had recorded a turnout of 93.19 per cent - the highest ever in the state.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
