Bengal polls first phase: TMC, Humayun Kabir cadre clashes; crude bombs dropped last night – What happened in Murshidabad?

New Delhi: Clashes, allegations of voter intimidation and technical glitches marked a tumultuous start to the first phase of polling in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.West Bengal polls phase 1 — Follow live updates Tensions began overnight when a crude bomb was allegedly thrown near Shivnagar Primary School, injuring at least one person and triggering panic. One of the victims told news agency ANI: “Last night around 8 pm, I went out to offer namaz.…I was standing…and two boys came over and dropped a bomb at my feet. Humayun Kabir’s party workers have done this…”. The violence spread into Thursday’s voting day. A scuffle broke out between Trinamool Congress (TMC) Workers and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP) founder Humayun Kabir visits the affected areas. Kabir, however, refuted the accusations, saying, “Peaceful elections are underway in all 22 seats in Noda, Reghi Nagar and Murshidabad. But something happened overnight at stalls 9 and 10 here in Nowda. They snatched the local policeman’s bag. “In Domkar, some voters claimed they were threatened and prevented from going to polling stations. Residents of Raipur village claimed that armed men had been present since early morning, creating an atmosphere of fear. The charges were leveled against the ruling TMC, which did not immediately respond. this election committee Reports were sought and heavy security was deployed to escort voters to polling stations when voting resumed.EVM glitches delayed or stopped voting at several polling stations, including Beldanga, Samsherganj and Kandi in Murshidabad. Similar issues were reported from Nandigram, Malda, Coochbehar and Siliguri. Congress candidate Sanjoy Adhikari said: “We have lodged a complaint… Hundreds of voters are already lining up… There is no Election Commission representative here who can tell us when voting will resume.”Voting in 152 constituencies started at 7 am and as of 9 am, the voter turnout rate was 18.76%.