WB: 60 pc polling in by-poll in Jangipur, constituency of Pranab's son

Kolkata: Sixty per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal on Wednesday where President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee, as the Congress candidate, was locked in a multi-cornered contest with 11 others.

The polling recorded this time, however, was far less as compared to 84.71 per cent voting registered for the same seat in the 2009 election. Returning officer Rajiv Kumar said the polling was peaceful across the constituency with ten companies of central forces deployed in the sensitive areas.

However, polling was boycotted in 26 booths as a mark of protest against bad roads and lack of electricity, he added. The by-poll was necessitated by the resignation of Pranab Mukjerjee after his elevation to the highest office. He had won twice consecutively from Jangipur – in 2004 and 2009.

The polling recorded this time, however, was far less as compared to 84.71 per cent voting registered for the same seat in the 2009 election.

The total electorate in the constituency is 12,40,000 and Mukherjee is fighting a multi-cornered contest against Muzaffar Hussain (CPM)and Sudhangshu Biswas (BJP). Trinamool Congress has not put up any candidate against Abhijit Mukherjee as a political gesture despite severance of ties with the Congress.

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