LS Polls: Polling personnel reach Sandeshkhali on boat as politically charged island readies for mega battle
May 30, 2024
North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], May 31 : As battleground Sandeshkhali gets ready for polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission shared a picture of polling personnel on the move from the dispersal centre to the polling station at the riverine island on a boat.
"Polling Personnel on the Move in Dhamakhali, Sandeshkhali AC, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal," the Election Commission posted on 'X'.
The Chief Electoral Office in West Bengal also shared a few pictures of polling personnel being transported to the North 24 Parganas island.
"Polling personnel moving from Dispersal center to the polling station of Sandeshkhali under North 24 Parganas district West Bengal," CEO West Bengal said in a post on 'X'.
Earlier, the CEO of West Bengal posted a picture of life-saving jackets being distributed among polling personnel for their journey towards the polling station at the Dispersal center (Dakhin Akratala Rabindra Niketan) at Sandeshkhali 1.
Sandeshkhali falls under the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, which will be voting on Saturday in the last phase.
Apart from Sandeshkhali, the Basirhat constituency comprises six other Vidhan Sabha seats, including Baduria, Haroa, Minakhan, Basirhat Dakshin, Basirhat Uttar, and Hingalganj, covering the entire North 24 Parganas district.
The BJP has chosen Rekha Patra, who led the protests against suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as the party's candidate. She is pitted against TMC's Haji Nurul Islam and CPIM's Nirapada Sardar.
The TMC has fielded Haji Nurul Islam, replacing the incumbent MP and party leader, Nusrat Jahan. Notably, Haji Nurul Islam won the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. The TMC has been the dominant party in this seat, winning three consecutive Lok Sabha elections since 2009.
Earlier this year, Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district made headlines when villagers, predominantly women, protested against the ruling TMC and TMC leader Shahjahan. They accused him and his associates of committing atrocities and seizing their land. Several women of Sandeshkhali have alleged "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion by Shajahan and his aides.
Following this, the TMC suspended Shahjahan, the main accused in Sandeshkhali, from the party for six years. He is currently in jail in relation to an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team during a raid at his home linked to a ration scam.
