Rejinagar Bypoll Election: Humayun Kabir Detained By Police Amid Voting Tension; Read On

Rejinagar byelection kicked off with high drama today. Police detained Naoda MLA and Aam Janata Unnayan Party chairman Humayun Kabir right after voting started. Read the full report to know why the cops picked him up

Rejinagar byelection: The Rejinagar byelection saw major drama just hours after voting began. Police detained Naoda MLA and Aam Janata Unnayan Party chairman Humayun Kabir. Cops from the Rejinagar police station picked him up from his party office around 8 AM and took him to the station.

Why did police detain Humayun Kabir?

Humayun Kabir cast his vote early Tuesday morning. He went to his village booth in Shaktipur with his family members. After voting, he drove straight to his party office in Rejinagar. Sources say he was sitting there and allegedly inciting violence and tension in different areas. Rejinagar police station in-charge Anjan Barman got this tip-off. He quickly reached the Aam Janata Unnayan Party office with a massive police force.

The cops asked Humayun Kabir to leave the office and go straight home. The MLA refused to follow this police order. After this, the police dragged him into their vehicle and headed towards the Rejinagar police station. While getting into the car, Humayun Kabir told reporters, "I do not know if they are arresting me or just detaining me." Meanwhile, Humayun and other political parties claimed that their polling agents were not being allowed to sit inside various booths in Rejinagar.

The Election Commission shared the official voter data. Rejinagar assembly constituency has 2,57,657 voters in total. This includes 1,35,014 male voters, 1,22,638 female voters, and 5 third-gender voters. The seat has 2,445 first-time voters in the 18 to 19 age group. It also has 3,231 specially-abled voters, 36 voters aged 100 or above, and 1,697 voters above 85 years. The service voter count stands at 1,111.

Nandigram assembly constituency has a total of 2,67,157 voters. The breakdown shows 1,39,677 male voters, 1,27,479 female voters, and 1 third-gender voter. The 18 to 19 age group has 2,016 voters here. This seat includes 2,180 specially-abled voters, 42 voters aged 100 or above, and 1,884 voters above 85 years. Nandigram has 738 service voters.

A look at candidate numbers

Rejinagar has 15 candidates fighting the election, and all of them are men. Nandigram has 9 candidates in the fray. This includes 8 male candidates and 1 female candidate.

Voting across 638 booths

The two assembly seats have 638 polling stations in total, including auxiliary booths. Rejinagar has 315 polling stations. This includes 2 model polling stations and 2 women-managed polling stations. Nandigram has 323 polling stations, featuring 1 model polling station and 2 women-managed polling stations. The Election Commission has arranged 100 percent webcasting in all booths across both seats.

Huge deployment of EVMs and VVPATs

The poll panel is using a huge number of EVMs and VVPATs. Rejinagar will use 390 Ballot Units (BU), 389 Control Units (CU), and 418 VVPATs, including reserves. Nandigram has 475 BUs, 471 CUs, and 473 VVPATs ready for the polls.

71 companies of central forces for security

The Election Commission has deployed 71 companies of central forces to ensure peaceful voting in both seats. The administration has set up a multi-layered security blanket to control the law and order situation. Both seats are high-profile, so the poll panel is taking no chances with security.

Nandigram gets 37 companies, while Rejinagar gets 34 companies of central forces. Officials decided in a meeting to draw these 71 companies from the 100 companies of central forces already stationed in West Bengal.