A game of chess, a vote with the family: Netas’ poll-day playbook

Kolkata: Trinamool and BJP heavyweight candidates spent their day crisscrossing their assembly segments, addressing complaints, and some even protesting as they refused to cede ground to their opponents.Mayor Firhad Hakim performed a delicate balancing act between his own Kolkata Port constituency and ensuring a lead for CM Mamata Banerjee in Bhowanipore. Meeting the CM at Chetla before heading to the Port area, Hakim said Trinamool will win all Kolkata seats.In Rashbehari, incumbent MLA Debasish Kumar set the pace, hitting the roads at 6:30 am. After visiting nearly 40 booths, he cast his vote at National Girls' School at 10:30 am with his wife and daughter Deblina. "Voting was largely peaceful, but there have been too many incidents of slow polling due to malfunctioning EVMs. The EC was obsessed with its security rather than the voting machines," Kumar said.His challenger, BJP's Swapan Dasgupta, mirrored the movement, traversing Deshparan Sashmal Road and New Alipore in south Kolkata. Dasgupta noted: "The polling was peaceful. I was stopped from entering a booth but was finally allowed in."Trinamool veteran Sobhandeb Chatterjee, contesting from Ballygunge, said after casting his vote in Bhowanipore: "The weather is perfect for voting and our team is batting well. The aam aadmi voted with vigour today. We have achieved what we had set out to achieve."Bratya Basu, the Trinamool candidate from Dum Dum, spent the first hour in the war room, while he visited some booths in Bediapara in the second half. After returning, he spent the rest of the time playing chess.In Chowringhee, veteran MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and his wife, Trinamool's Chowringhee candidate Nayna Bandyopadhyay, cast their votes at Calcutta Boys' School around 10 am. Nayna then visited booths in her constituency, spent time at Bow Barracks speaking with residents, and met party workers at Ward 48. She said, "Overall, the election has been peaceful and turnout has been good, despite such a huge number of deletions.." BJP Chowringhee candidate Santosh Pathak said, "I visited all booths and it has been a peaceful election."First-time candidate Shrreya Pandey, dressed in a white saree, travelled through Hatibagan and Fariapukur on a scooter. "I have my car, but it is better to navigate the narrow lanes and bylanes here on a scooter. It will help me to cover more booths and save time," she said.Veteran politician and five-time MLA Tapas Roy visited booths across his constituency from Ultadanga to Bagmari and Hedua from morning till evening. At Banipith Girls' High School near Maniktala PS, he received information about booth-jamming at Rani Bhabani School and changed his route. Trinamool's Beleghata candidate Kunal Ghosh began booth visits at 9:30 am. At Dhyan Debi Khanna Road, he met MMiC Swapan Samaddar, and later went to a booth at KG Basu Sarani over issues with a reliever. He later posted a video showing CRPF personnel asking his party affiliation despite his candidate's pass. Minister Sashi Panja stayed home most of the day before going out later. "Our opposing candidate was shouting at a booth. However, webcasting was taking place there, and everything was being monitored centrally. Who knows why she was shouting?" Panja said. BJP candidate Purnima Chakraborty alleged slow voting and Trinamool outsiders near a booth, triggering a clash. CRPF was called in. Sajal Ghosh, the BJP candidate from Baranagar, reached early in the morning after casting his vote at Raj Rajeshwari School under Chowringhee constituency. He reached straight to Baranagar and roamed from one booth to another whenever he received any complaints from his party workers. BJP Entally candidate Priyanka Tibrewal lost her cool at an Entally booth after a booth agent allegedly asked for a circular.
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