After the intense drama over allegations of rigging in Kolkata on Thursday, ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election results, police banned all kinds of gatherings in seven districts where votes will be counted.
It’s done After high drama in the counting centers over Trinamool Congress allegations of suspicious activities.
The prohibitory orders issued by the police were implemented at Shaheed Kshodiram Bose Road, Judge Court Road, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbor Road, Lord Sinha Hall, Naresh Mitra Sarani (Beltala Road) and Pramathesh Barua Sarani. Kolkata.
Strong rooms storing electronic voting machines and centers where votes will be counted on May 4 have been fortified by officials. A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been put in place at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting center for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata, which houses EVM strong rooms.
“Civil police forces and additional armed police forces have also been deployed under the supervision of Additional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police,” Kolkata Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Rupesh Kumar told reporters after visiting the area.
BJP and TMC workers clashed outside the counting center at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday evening. Candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Banga protested in front of the gate of the counting centre. Workers of both the TMC and the BJP raised slogans, leading to a brief confrontation. Prime Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee approached the strong room at the memorial counting center in Shakhwat and remained there for hours.
What the West Bengal Chief Executive said about TMC’s rigging allegations
Manoj Kumar Agarwal, West Bengal’s chief electoral officer, denied the TMC’s allegations of “suspicious activities” in the powerful EVM chambers in Kolkata.
“The strong rooms at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra house the electronic voting machines from seven assembly constituencies in North Kolkata. After polling ended on Wednesday, all the strong rooms were properly sealed in the presence of concerned candidates, election agents and observers. The last strong room was closed at 5.15 am on Thursday. There is another strong room for postal balloting at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. Postal ballots from various centers were kept there. They were being counted. They were being counted,” he said in a press conference by officials. Ballot.”
The CEO said he also asked the returning officers to inform the relevant candidates and agents of the exercise.
“The returning officers informed the political parties via email. The segregation of postal ballots began in the aisles of polling booths from 4pm. They are all safe, secured and locked. Everything has been shown to the representatives of both Trinamool Congress and BJP,” he added.
The state’s chief poll official explained that since electricity connections were not allowed in strong rooms, the segregation of postal ballots for Kolkata’s seven Assembly constituencies was being carried out by torchlight, which the ruling Trinamool leaders wrongly termed as “suspicious activities”.
