New Delhi: The first phase of voting got off to a turbulent start in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district with clashes, allegations of voter intimidation and technical glitches.West Bengal Phase 1 Voting – Follow Live Updates Tension erupted overnight when crude bombs were reportedly hurled near Shivnagar Primary School, injuring at least one person and spreading panic. A victim told news agency ANI, “I had gone out to offer Namaz at around 8 pm last night...I was standing…two boys came and threw a bomb near my feet. Humayun Kabir’s party workers have done this…” Violence spread on voting day on Thursday. A scuffle broke out between the two Trinamool Congress (TMC) activist and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP) founder Humayun Kabir visited the affected area. However, Kabir rejected the allegations, saying, “Peaceful elections are being held on all the 22 seats of Nauda, ​​Rezinagar and Murshidabad. But here some incident happened overnight at booth number 9 and 10 of Nauda. They snatched the bags of the local police.In Domkal, many voters alleged that they were threatened and prevented from reaching polling stations. Residents of Raipur village claimed that armed men were present since morning, creating an atmosphere of fear. The allegations were leveled at the ruling TMC, which did not immediately react. Election Commission A report was sought, and later heavy security was deployed to escort voters to the booths when polling resumed.Voting was delayed or stopped due to EVM malfunction at several booths in Murshidabad, including Beldanga, Samsherganj and Kandi. Similar issues were also reported in Nandigram, Malda, Cooch Behar and Siliguri. Congress candidate Sanjay Adhikari said, “We have already filed a complaint… Hundreds of voters are already standing in the queues… and there is no Election Commission representative here who can tell us when the elections will resume.”Voting began at 7 am in 152 constituencies, with 18.76 percent voting recorded till 9 am.