Bengal returned to its original self with blood spilling in the Saturday's sixth phase elections that started with a political murder on Friday night and ended with sporadic violence, attacks on opposition candidates and security forces, rampant booth capture and rigging, independent sources said.

Violence and rigging apart, the sixth round also witnessed a higher percentage of polling which stood at about 77.99 per cent --- compared to 73-74 per cent in the previous rounds --- till five pm, sources in the Election Commission which looked more miserable than ever before said adding polling percentage could go up as many people were still standing in the queues.

Politicians were likely to keep their fingers crossed considering the higher polling percentage compared to earlier phases, sources said.

Curiously at the end of the elections while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who complained of booth capture by Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari's men in his home turn at East Midnapore, the BJP leader sounded pretty confident with a one-liner that sixth phase had ensured "a new saffron sunrise in Bengal." Curious because the Chief Minister who was addressing an election rally at Rajarhat in the northern fringes of Kolkata said quoting a Rabindranath Tagore line: "Amaar jaoar samay holo … dao biday (It is time for me to go … bid me farewell)."

Cut to the electoral battlefield a TMC worker and a former panchayat member Sk Moibul was allegedly murdered by the BJP men at Mahishadal in Tamluk constituency, sources said adding the police have arrested five people in that connection. The incident took place in the small hours of Saturday. Saturday's murder comes a day after a BJP woman worker getting killed by TMC men.At Tamluk from where retired Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Ganguli is blockaded in a tri-cornered contest against TMC's Debangshu Bhattacharya and CPI(M)'s Sayan Banerjee the former Judge was gheraoed and slogans were raised against him when he went to various booths after receiving complaints of booth capture. Banerjee too faced similar slogans at various places by angry TMC men.

Tamluk --- and nearby Kanthi from where Adhikari's younger brother Soumendu is fighting on a BJP ticket --- fall in Adhikari's home turn of East Midnapore. Despite sporadic violence the two constituencies witnessed about 74 percent polling sources said.

As the day progressed reports of violence and rigging trickled in from Jhargram where BJP candidate Pranat Tudu had literally to run for his life when TMC goons chased him and brick-batted

his car.

 The back windshield of the vehicle was shattered and a central force jawan was injured in the attack. A vehicle of a media house too was damaged, sources said.

Jhargram witnessed a brisk polling of 79.68 percent. Tudu is pitted in a trilateral fight against Kalipada Soren of Trinamool Congress and CPI(M)'s Sonamani

Tudu.

At neighbouring Midnapore seat --- which witnessed 77.57 percent polling --- BJP's Agnimitra Paul was blockaded by alleged TMC men when she was moving around to inspect and address complaints of booth capture.

Adjacent Ghatal --- where sitting MP and Bengali super star Deb is contesting against BJP's actor politician Hiran Chatterjee --- the latter was gheroaed and his men were chased away by t he TMC men when he went to inspect complaints of booth capture. Ghatal witnessed 78 percent polling.

Polling was brisk and long lines could be seen at various booths amid complaints of stray violence in other jangalmahal districts of Bankura, Purulia and Bishnupur too. While 74.09 percent voters turned out to vote at Purulia bordering Jharkhand, 76.79 percent polling was witnessed at Bankura whereas 81.87 percent voters cast their votes at Bishnupur.

Out of the eight seats that went to polls on Saturday six were won by the BJP in 2019 apparently on account of a massive migration of Left votes to the saffron outfit. Though Tamluk and Kanthi seats in East Midnapore were won by the TMC their sitting MPs Sisir Adhikari and Divyendu Adhikari --- father and brother of Suvendu Adhikari --- subsequently crossed over to the BJP.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata the Chief Minister continued to attack the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for peddling false promises.

"A person who fails on his guarantees should be called a 420 (read Section 420 of the IPC that refer to cheating as an offence)," 

Banerjee said reminding how he failed to deliver on his promises of depositing Rs 15 lakh on all bank accounts or providing 2 crore jobs per year or for that matter giving free cooking gas to people.