Kolkata, Feb 13 (IANS) Peaceful polling is underway Friday in by-election for the Bongaon Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal.
"The polling percentage was 34.70 at Bongaon till 12 noon," an Election Commission official said here.
The by-poll, necessitated by the death of Trinamool MP Kapil Krishna Thakur, is being held in the shadow of the CBI inquiry into the multi-billion rupee Saradha ponzi scam.
Several Trinamool leaders, including Transport Minister Madan Mitra, are under arrest, while a number of his party colleagues have been quizzed with regard to the scandal, said to be the biggest in the state.
Adding to the significance, the deceased MP's brother Manjul Krishna Thakur quit Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet and joined the BJP ahead of the polls.
The Trinamool has fielded Kapil Krishna's widow Mamatabala, while Manjul Krishna's son Subrata is the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.
Former state minister Debesh Das is the Communist Party of the India (Marxist) nominee. Congress' Kuntal Mondal is also in fray.
A total of 15,65,447 people, including 7,55,822 females and 11 others, are eligible to cast their votes at 1,863 polling stations. The total number of candidates is 11, two of them women.
Simultaneous by-polls are being held for the Krishnaganj assembly seat where 37.62 percent voters expressed their choice till noon. The seat in Nadia district fell vacant due to the death of Trinamool lawmaker Sushil Biswas.
Among the five candidates are Trinamool's Satyajit Biswas, Apurba Biswas of the CPI-M and BJP's Manabendra Roy. The Congress ticket has gone to Nityagopal Mondal.
The strength of the electorate is 2,44,988, including 1,16,441 females and one others. There are 288 polling stations.
Both Bongaon and Krishnaganj are reserved for scheduled caste candidates.
DoNER Gets 29.4 Percent Higher Allocation
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) ministry saw a 29.43 percent increase in its budgetary allocation for 2015-16, with extra money pumped in for
Russia-Ukraine War Updates: America is shying away from the war against Russia, Joe Biden said – we do not want war in NATO and Russia
97 days have passed since the Russo-Ukraine war. Even after passing so much time, NATO forces have not jumped directly into the fight. US President Joe Biden once again made it clear from an article
Effect of Russia-Ukraine war: SBI cuts India's GDP growth forecast, the rupee will break further against the dollar
19 days have passed since the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict is not taking its name to stop. Both countries are suffering heavy losses from this war and its effect is visible on other
Milk Price Hike: Inflation shock on festivals, Amul increases by two rupees on full cream milk, will have to pay such a price
Inflation has hit hard during the festive season. On Saturday, India's renowned dairy company Amul increased the price of full cream and buffalo milk by Rs.
Great news for India, crude oil reserves found in the Andaman Sea! Dependence on other countries will end.
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that a large reserve of crude oil and gas has been found in the Andaman Sea. He estimates that this petroleum reserve seems to be as much as the
Vikarm Box Office Collection: Kamal Haasan overshadows Akshay Kumar, Vikarm earns a lot on the first day
Along with Akshay Kumar's 'Samrat Prithviraj', Kamal Haasan's 'Vikarm' and Adivi Shesh's film 'Major' have also knocked in theatres. Even before the release, the comparison of these three films
CCTV cameras installed at the gangrape victim's house, those inside have to pass through a metal detector; A man is secretly taking pictures of everyone
The crops that were strewn around the road connecting Bulgaria with the main road, are now being cut and the fields look like fields. The crowd is less on this road now. CCTV camera has now been
RH 200 Sounding Rocket: 200th consecutive successful launch of ISRO's RH 200 sounding rocket
ISRO's versatile sounding rocket RH-200 on Wednesday registered its 200th consecutive successful launch from Thiruvananthapuram's Thumba coast. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) termed it
OTT Movies: These films including 'Baaghi 4' will be released soon, this OTT platform partnered with Sajid Nadiadwala
Sajid Nadiadwala's Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment (NGE) has joined hands with Amazon Prime Video. Under this partnership, many interesting films have been lined up for release on this OTT platform.
Bangladesh Vs Ireland: Shakib becomes the highest wicket-taker in T20, Ireland kneels in front of Bangladesh
Bangladesh has won the three T20 match series against Ireland. He defeated the visiting team by 77 runs in the match played on Wednesday (March 29) in Chittagong. With this victory, Bangladesh took an
