Bengal LS polls: BJP's Raju Bista complains of violence at Chopra; 47.29 pc turnout till 1 pm

Kolkata: A voter turnout of 57.29 per cent was recorded till 1 p.m. in the three Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal -- Darjeeling, Raiganj, and Balurghat -- where polling is underway on Friday.

The BJP candidate from Darjeeling, Raju Bista, has accused the Trinamool Congress workers of unleashing violence at Chopra, one of the seven Assembly constituencies under this Lok Sabha seat.

“At Chopra, the ruling party workers are openly moving around with firearms. The voters are being intimidated. I have already informed the Election Commission about the matter. There is an urgent need for repolling at several polling booths at Chopra,” Bista told mediapersons.

Meanwhile, as per the data received from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, till 1 p.m., maximum polling was recorded in Darjeeling at 49.09 per cent, followed by Raiganj at 47.56 per cent, and Balurghat at 44.93 per cent.

Despite complaining about poll violence at Chopra, Bista sounded confident about his prospects in the remaining six Assembly segments under the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

"Considering the polling percentage recorded already, I feel the final numbers will cross the 80 per cent mark,” Bista said.

Meanwhile, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung cast his vote along with his wife Asha Gurung on Friday afternoon.

“I want Narendra Modi to become the Prime Minister of the country again. We also want our demands regarding the hills to be fulfilled,” Bimal Gurung said.