IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, labelled ‘Singham’
Kolkata: Falta in South 24 Parganas woke up on the polling day with apprehensions of a major face-off. One man moved relentlessly across the constituency, while the other stayed stationed in a single room, monitoring every activity from a distance. The much-hyped ‘Singham vs Pushpa’ confrontation, built over days of warnings and counter-threats, never happened. What came instead were EVM complaints. In one instance, a tape was found stuck on the BJP candidate’s name on the EVM. “Maximum complaints were from Falta. Among 32 complaints, 20 were verified. A repoll will be held,” CEO Manoj Agarwal said. Across Bengal, 77 complaints were received. In the days leading up to the election, the Falta constituency had been primed for a confrontation. IPS Ajay Pal Sharma, an ‘encounter specialist’ from UP appointed as EC’s police observer, was projected as ‘Singham’. Matching the rhetoric, Jahangir Khan, Trinamool Congress candidate and local political ‘satrap’, declared himself to be ‘Pushpa’. Their near-encounters and the charged political rhetoric had set expectations for a dramatic election day. By 7 am, Sharma was already on the move. For the next two hours, his convoy, more than 10-vehicle strong, traversed through Falta. At intervals, security personnel stepped out, dispersing clusters of people gathered near booths, while Sharma remained glued to his phone inside the vehicle. “Sir is avoiding media glare… But, if any voter faces trouble, he will be there to help,” said a security personnel. Even before Sharma’s convoy rolled out, Khan had taken position. At his party office, he settled into what aides called his “control room”. For over 12 hours, Khan stayed fixed between TV screens and his phone, while workers streamed in and out. Apart from minor skirmishes, polling remained largely incident-free, which seemed to bolster the confidence inside Khan’s ‘control room’. “Even if they send 100 such Singhams, Pushpa jhukega nahi. Pushpa will grow stronger,” said Khan.
