West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at the Bhabanipur strongroom in Kolkata following allegations from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) that polls were opened at the EVM strongroom. The party also said that Banerjee would personally come to the site to “assess the situation”.
Banerjee arrived at Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, the counting center for the Bhabanipur Assembly segment, which houses the strong room for electronic voting machines for the polls, which were held on April 29.
It came after TMC shared a video alleging that the BJP is colluding with the Election Commission to open polls without the presence of concerned party workers. The TMC also said that Mamata will visit the site and “assess the situation”.
Banerjee told reporters that she had suggested installing a CCTV camera for the media, adding that “the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
She stressed the need for transparency, saying, “It is necessary to maintain transparency. People’s voices must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces did not allow me to enter at first.”
Also read: ‘CCTV not shut down, all parties informed’: EC rejects rigging allegations made by TMC after powerful Kolkata drama
She added, in a strict tone ahead of the counting of votes on May 4, “If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated.”
These developments came a day after the final phase of elections was held in West Bengal on Wednesday and hours after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, through a video message, urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on the strong rooms containing electronic voting machines, stating that she suspects the BJP is planning to tamper with the machines before the counting begins on May 4.
In a strongly worded statement, the party claimed that surveillance camera footage showed the opening of ballot boxes without the presence of accredited representatives of political parties, describing this as “gross electoral fraud.”
Also Read: Allegations of rigging and chaos: TMC and BJP face off late at night in Kolkata
Meanwhile, two TMC leaders, Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Banga, staged a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra headquarters, alleging misconduct.
Meanwhile, ECI in a press conference rejected TMC’s claims and said that no CCTV cameras in the strong rooms have been switched off. Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal also clarified that the live footage of the chambers has been made available to all parties.
(With inputs from Annie)
