Dhupguri Assembly bypoll: 80% voter turnout, BJP candidate Tapasi Roy clashes with police

Despite a heated campaigning conflict in recent weeks between the BJP and Trinamul, the Dhupguri Assembly byelection on Tuesday was mainly calm.

80% of eligible voters had turned out as of 6:30 p.m. Voter participation in Dhupguri's 2021 Assembly elections, which the BJP won, was 87.16 percent.

In 260 booths, the byelections were conducted under intense paramilitary and state police protection.

Trinamul and the BJP will be put to the test in Jalpaiguri's Dhupguri bypoll, which is held a few months before the Lok Sabha elections and was made necessary by the death of BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy. The saffron camp is desperate to hold onto the seat as it has lost several MLA since 2021 due to defections and byelection losses. While Trinamul is hoping to replicate its Dinhata success in Dhupguri — it lost Cooch Behar's Dinhata to the BJP in 2021 but later won it with a huge majority in a bypoll — the saffron camp is hoping to replicate its success in Dhupguri.

Since 2021, Bengal has been seven by-elections; the BJP has lost each one.

The Telegraph presents some of the byelection's highlights on Tuesday.

Argument

The BJP candidate Tapasi Roy got into a confrontation with law enforcement.

When Roy arrived to booths 15/182 and 15/183 in ward 7 of Dhupguri town at 10 am and saw a policeman standing with members of the central force to manage the throng, she urged him to leave.

The extra rural superintendent of police, Wangden Bhutia, arrived. According to the electoral commission's rules, he informed Tapasi, security precautions had been made.

"It is clearly stated that police officers may be stationed in front of the polling places in order to control the voters. Tension was caused by the BJP candidate's ignorance of the situation and his yelling. We advised her that she may voice any concerns to the observer or presiding officer. We have recorded the incidence in a generic journal," Bhutia stated.

Tapasi also said that she will lodge a grievance.

"When I saw a police officer nearby the booth, I told them to get out of the way. The cop intimidated me instead of leaving," she stated.

Voters from abroad

While many voters from far Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Delhi were unable to vote, the majority of Dhupguri's migrant laborers from adjacent Siliguri, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Bhutan did.

"My son visited in July to vote in a remote area. This time, he couldn't afford it, according to Nasifa Bibi, whose son Md Sirazuddin works at a Bangalore-area driving school.

On the other side, Amina Khatun of Paschim Magurmari village traveled to vote with her son who lives and works in adjacent Phuentsholing of Bhutan. He arrived this morning and will depart the next day (Wednesday)," said Khatun.

2.5 lakh work permits in Jalpaiguri, including 45,000 in the Banarhat district and 20,000 in the Dhupguri block, were revoked because they were not associated with the holders' Aadhaar cards. Out of these individuals, 17,000 moved to other states. In addition, development on the MGNREGS was halted when the Centre frozen funding to Bengal, which increased migration. Few immigrants from distant states really showed up to vote, according to an administration source.

Migrant workers avoid voting, according to a political observer.

the early voting

Around 75% of voters cast ballots by midday in a few booths that are near woods, like Moraghat and Khuttimari.

"This is because wild creatures, in particular elephants, emerge just before sunset. A forest authority said that voters didn't want to run across any animals on their way home.

Teams from the forest department also monitored these areas, working with the central troops and police to keep animals away from the booths.

Police at the BJP office

Sujoy Tunga, the inspector-in-charge of the Dhupguri police station, led a police squad that arrived to the BJP polling place in the afternoon after discovering that several BJP officials who weren't registered to vote in this Assembly seat were present at the office the party had put up for the byelection on a piece of real estate owned by a supporter.

Bapi Goswami, the district's top BJP official and a Jalpaiguri Assembly seat voter, as well as Dipak Barman, the Falakata in Alipurduar district's MLA, were discovered inside the building by the police.

The leaders stated that their party had nominated them for the positions of in-charge and co-in-charge for the byelection. However, they were told to leave by the police.

EVM glitch

Three booths reported having issues with the EVM.

During simulated voting, the EVMs in booths 15/110 and 15/112 ceased to function. Instead of 7am, voting began at 8am. Due to a glitch, voting began at 8.35am at booth 15/183.