Kolkata, April 19: BJP’s sitting Lok Sabha member from Jalpaiguri constituency in West Bengal, Dr Jayanta Kumar Roy, who is seeking re-election, was not able to vote for himself.

Even in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he was unable to vote for himself. This is because despite being a candidate from Jalpaiguri he is a voter from the adjacent Darjeeling constituency. West Bengal Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Initial Polling in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri Seats Marred by Violence as TMC and BJP Workers Clash (Watch Video).

“I cannot help it but surely it is a matter of pain for me that I am unable to vote for myself,” said Roy while interacting with the media persons as he was hopping from one place to another while the polling for Jalpaiguri was taking place. His closest contestants are Trinamool Congress’ Nirmal Chandra Roy and CPI(M)’s Debraj Burman.

However, despite the sadness of not being able to vote for himself, the sitting BJP candidate is confident of retaining the seat this time as well. “I have absolutely no doubts about the victory. This is because the people of Jalpaiguri have faith in BJP,” Roy said. Barring one or two stray incidents, the polling process at Jalpaiguri had been more or less peaceful in the first four hours of polling, which the BJP candidate himself admitted. Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase 1: West Bengal Sees 33.56% Voter Turnout, Lakshadweep 16.33% Till 11 AM; Check Voting Percentage of Other States and UTs.

“At some places, Trinamool Congress tried to terrorise the voters. In some places, they tried to lure voters by distributing rice. But the people of Jalpaiguri are really eager to vote for us,” he said. He also appreciated the role of election observers in promptly addressing any instances of grievance recorded with the Election Commission of India

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2024 01:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).