Leaders in dist guessing vote Margin for winner

SNS, Siliguri, 18 April 2014: At a time when the Trinamul Congress leadership is claiming a win for its candidate in the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat by more than one lakh votes, Forward Bloc leaders are speculating that the lead margin of a successful candidate would be within 20,000.

However, CPI-M district secretary Tarini Roy confidently claimed that though the Trinamul captured more than 100 polling stations, there is a ray of hope for the LF candidate. “We don’t think we have been defeated,” he said.

Notably, anti-Trinamul political parties yesterday alleged that TMC activists captured polling booths in three Assembly segments of Sitalkuchi, Natabari and Cooch Behar (south) in the absence of the central armed forces there. Political leaders belonging to the Left Front, Congress and the BJP alleged that the administration aided the ruling party while it conducted the ‘vulnerability mapping’ process. They said the central armed forces were not deployed in those areas as the Trinamul activists planned to rig votes.

Election officials have not yet accepted the demand for re-polling in the stations. The LF has demanded re-polling in 116 booths, while the Congress said re-polling should be done for 184 booths.

Sporadic post-poll violence was reported from different areas in the district where the Trinamul Congress is dominant. “LF leaders’ allegations are baseless. They are worried as the people decided to extend overwhelming support to the Trinamul candidate and the allegations are nothing but a face-saver before they finally taste defeat,” Cooch Behar district Trinamul Congress president Rabindranath Ghosh said. “We will win the seat by two lakh vote margin,” he claimed.

CPI-M district secretary Mr Roy, however, said: “The district administration, in collusion with the Trinamul Congress, planned not to deploy the central forces in areas where they would rig votes. District election officials did not accept our list of hyper-sensitive and sensitive booths during preparation of the vulnerability map. We have lodged a complaint with the EC demanding re-polling.”

“But despite the Trinamul vote rigging and booth jamming, there is a ray of hope for the LF candidate. We don’t think we are defeated yet in the battlefield,” he added. Refuting Mr Ghosh’s claim, FB district secretary Udayan Guho said FB workers are hopeful that their candidate would win the seat.

“Many people, who were with the Trinamul Congress, have voted for other political parties, including the FB candidate. The lead margin between the LF and TMC candidates would be 15,000 to 20,000 votes,” he said.

“I was shocked to see massive vote rigging, despite the EC’s monitoring system there. I was also saddened by the role of the election officials. If such situation continues, people will have no faith in democracy,” Congress candidate Keshab Roy said. However, BJP candidate Hem Chandra Barman said: “I am still hopeful of my win in Cooch Behar, as the Modi fever is there among the voters. The Trinamul’s defeat fears are only natural.”