BJP demands repoll in 40 booths in Darjeeling

Kolkata, April 19 (IANS) Alleging that voters were not allowed to exercise their franchise freely and fairly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded a repoll in 40 polling booths in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency of West Bengal that went to the hustings on Thursday.The demand was made by the BJP candidate for the seat, Raju Bista, in a letter to the Returning Officer for the constituency.Thirty nine of these booths were under the Chopra assembly segment, and one under Phansidewa."Many of the workers and general voters were also attacked in this area," Bista wrote.The candidate complained that repeated requests for the deployment of central forces in more than 1,400 booths did not elicit any reponse from the concerned authorities. "Even sensitive polling booths had no central forces. Consequently, voters could not exercise their rights freely and fairly" he said.The second phase of the general elections in the state was held on Thursday in the Jalpaipuri, Darjeeling and Raiganj constituencies.
--IANS str-bnd/ssp/bc