The by-election to the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district on Wednesday witnessed a modest turnout of 57 per cent. The seat had fallen vacant after Pranab Mukherjee was elected the country’s President.
The Congress fielded Abhijit Mukherjee, the President’s son, to contest the by-election.
“The turnout at the close of voting was 57 per cent. It may increase slightly as some people are still queued up outside a few booths,” Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Anamika Mazumdar said.
The Jangipur constituency has 12,40,617 voters, of whom 63 per cent are Muslims. A total of 11 candidates contested, including CPM’s Muzaffar Hussain and BJP’s Sudhangshu Biswas. The Trinamool Congress did not field any candidate.
Voters in 12 booths under the Shruti and Khargram blocks boycotted the election to register their protest against poor roads and no electricity. The sub-divisional officer of Murshidabad district, accompanied by other officials, went to the booths to convince the voters to exercise their franchise.
Polling was delayed in some of the booths where electronic voting machines did not function properly. However, they were repaired soon.
“The district’s border with Bangladesh was sealed. Ten companies of central forces are manning the sensitive areas,” a district administrative officer said.
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