EC extends voting time by half an hour for the first phase of Bengal elections
Synopsis
The Election Commission has extended the voting time by half an hour for the first phase of elections in West Bengal. The first phase of elections in the state will be held on March 27, under which voting will be held for 30 assembly seats.
The Election Commission has extended the voting time by half an hour for the first phase of elections in West Bengal. Now voters will be able to cast their vote from 7 am to 6:30 pm. The commission on Tuesday issued a notification in this regard.
An election official said that this decision has been taken in view of the restrictions imposed on COVID-19. "Keeping in mind the current situation of COVID-19, the commission has decided to increase the voting time by 30 minutes," he said.
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The first phase of elections in the state will be held on March 27, under which voting will be held for 30 assembly seats. In the previous polls, polling was held in Maoist-affected areas like Bankura, Purulia, West Midnapore and Jhargram from 8 am to 4 pm. This time voting will be held in all those areas from 8 am to 6:30 pm.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Basu said on Tuesday that railway, metro, postal department, Doordarshan, aviation and shipping workers and journalists approved by the commission would also be able to vote in the postal ballot. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said there is a separate committee to look into whether the ongoing projects in the state are in line with the Electoral Code of Conduct. Health partners are also among those projects.
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A BJP delegation led by Mukul Roy, Sabyasachi Dutt and Shishir Bajoria met the Chief Electoral Officer. They allege that those who have been appointed as administrators in the expired municipalities of the state are representatives of political parties.
The BJP has questioned whether it is a violation of the code of conduct. The BJP camp on Monday (March 1) questioned the meeting between Tejashwi Yadav and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nabanna (state secretariat). CPM leader Rabin Dev met the CEO on Tuesday (March 2) with the same allegation.
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