Siliguri, April 30 (Inditop) There was a poll boycott in two booths of West Bengal’s hill district of Darjeeling though enthusiastic queues of people were seen elsewhere under a thick blanket of fog and intermittent rain Thursday.
Fifteen to 20 percent votes were cast in the first two hours of the polls for the only Lok Sabha constituency of the district – Darjeeling – from where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavyweight Jaswant Singh is trying his luck.
Following a vote boycott call given by the tribal body Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP), not single voter has lined up at the Raikhota SSK and Bijlimoni Tea Estate booths under Phansidewa Assembly constituency of Silguri sub-division.
ABAVP called for the poll boycott protesting against the state government not heeding its four-point charter of demands including creation of a new Lok Sabha constituency comprising the foothills of the district and opening of closed tea gardens.
In the remote polling booth of Daragaon, situated at a height of 2,600 m, 19 percent votes were recorded in the first two hours.
rounak