12,000 Malda voters boycott poll

DANCE Of DEMOCRACY

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Malda: As many as 12,000 voters boycotted the poll in Malda on Thursday, saying basic demands, such as bijli, sadak or paani (electricity, roads and water) have not been met all these years. Voters at 11 booths of Manikchak, one each at Malatipur and Habibpur stuck to their decision of boycotting the poll after they had earlier submitted a memorandum to that effect. When the residents of Gobardhantola, Mannutola and North Chandipur failed to turn up at the booths, district officials rushed to the villagers but failed to convince them to vote. “Had the culvert, lying broken for years at Rampur Khari, been repaired, it would have reduced the distance from the main road by 7 km. Our repeated appeals have only yielded promises,” said Ashoke Shil. “For the stretch of 3 km to 4 km, we have only one tube well and no alternative source of water during droughts,” said Ismal Oraon, a villager. “Since neither any party nor any official promised to provide basic amenities, we found no reason to vote,” said Anil Burman, another villager. The 1,138 voters of Amtola Nanditola of Manikchak or the 1,000-odd voters of North Chandipur, who for years have been demanding drinking water and a bridge over Fulohar river, seemed too disgusted. “Though we tried to convince the villagers to vote, they refused to budge from their boycott call,” said Suresh Mandal, the CPM chief of a gram panchayat. Polling in Malda was as high as nearly 75%, said district magistrate Sridhar Kumar Ghosh, although the final tally was yet to be prepared. Barring a few stray incidents in Sujapur, Harishchandrapur and Kaliachak, polling in both Malda North and South constituencies passed off peacefully. CPM has demanded a repoll in the two booths of the Sujapur Assembly segment. “At booths 75 and 75A of Jaluabathan village, our voters could not vote as Congress had captured the booths,” said Jiban Maitra, CPM district secretary. The administration, however, is yet to decide on a repoll. “The decision will be taken only after the presiding officer and the observers submit their reports,” said the DM. On the other hand, Congress candidates Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury and his niece Mausam Noor expressed happiness with the trend. “Though we had apprehended widespread rigging and booth-capturing by CPM, the situation was not as disastrous,” said Khan Choudhury. Polling in South Dinajpur district, too, was as high as 76%. “There was no demand for a repoll, as polling went off peacefully,” said district magistrate Ashok Banerjee. However, the voters of Syedpur village under Kumarganj Assembly segment and Kurbanpur under Harirampur, boycotted the poll.