West Bengal's distant Tin Bigha Corridor that connects Bangladesh gears up for poll battle tomorrow
Apr 18, 2024
Coochbehar (West Bengal) [India], April 18 : As the country is all set to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, preparations are underway at the distant Tin Bigha Corridor in West Bengal's Coochbehar district, which borders Bangladesh.
The Tin Bigha Corridor is a narrow strip of land in West Bengal's Coochbehar that was given as a lease to Bangladesh so that the neighbouring nation could access the Dahagram-Angarpota Bangladeshi enclaves within Indian territory.
"This is booth number 1/204. There are 1047 voters. The situation is peaceful here. Security is good as well. We are a team of four people, along with a police officer," one of the presiding officers manning the booth at Satirghater Par Ramnidhi High School in Tin Bigha Corridor said, speaking to ANI.
One of the citizens in the region said that the central security forces posted at the region is helping in the voting process.
"The border is 10 metres away. We are happy with the preparations. Security is being ensured by the central police forces. This will give us confidence in voting," Bishnu Roy, a local said, speaking to ANI.
Responding to a question asked by the reporter on the security situation in the area, Roy said, "There is no conflict in this region."
On their readiness to vote on Friday, in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Roy said, "This is the summer season. We will come early in the morning to vote."
Another local resident also said that the Corridor is peaceful and everyone lives in harmony in the region.
"Voting in our village takes place in a peaceful manner. Everyone stays in harmony together. CRPF jawans are present here. Tomorrow, villagers will queue up early in the morning to cast their votes and then go back," he said speaking to ANI.
Giving details about the locality, he added, "Our region is known as Kuchlibari. There are 19 booths here in total. We are here at booth number 4. Booth number 5 is located near us."
Coochbehar will be voting in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections along with Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. All three seats were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has fielded its sitting MP Nisith Pramanik, who is serving as the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports at the Centre from Coochbehar. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has fielded Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia from the constituency, while the Congress has fielded Piya Roy Chowdhury.
