West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI), expressing concerns over possible efforts in the upcoming Assembly elections to hack electronic voting machines (EVMs) and disqualify Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates on technical grounds.
“Electronic voting machines should be checked properly. Ask for VVPAT when casting your vote. If an electronic voting machine breaks down, don’t let them fix it. Ask for it to be replaced,” the TMC chief said at a rally in Samsirganj in Murshidabad, which was the epicenter of violence during protests against the Stop (Amendment) Bill in the district in April 2025.
The West Bengal state elections are scheduled to be held on April 23 and 29, with counting starting on May 4, along with four other states.
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“There will be several days between voting and counting. Make sure that the central (paramilitary) forces guarding the electronic voting machines do not tamper with them. There is nothing they cannot do. Maintain vigil round the clock,” Banerjee said.
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s claims on EVM hacking, BJP Bengal chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said: “Realizing that she will not return to power, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has started working on all possible excuses for the defeat at the hands of the masses.”
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Criticizing the deletion of names during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of the electoral roll in the state, the Chief Minister said: “Use your democratic power. Cast your votes to take revenge for the deletion of people’s names, and against the SIR so that the results reflect that.”
Banerjee also urged people whose names were deleted during the SIR process to file appeals before the court.
“Be careful while submitting nomination papers. Take lawyers with you. Check the papers carefully. The BJP has made all kinds of plans to reject nomination papers. Handpicked officials have been deployed to reject nominations on technical grounds,” she warned TMC candidates.
Banerjee further alleged that the BJP is “bringing in paid supporters” from other states to influence election governance.
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“The BJP is not only attracting voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is also attracting hordes of paid supporters from those states,” the TMC chief added.
Murshidabad district has the largest Muslim population in Bengal at 66.28%, according to the 2011 census, followed by neighboring Malda district (51.27%).
Banerjee also led a roadshow in Berhampur, where former Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is vying for an Assembly seat after 30 years.
Hours before Prime Minister Banerjee’s arrival, TMC workers in Berhampur town allegedly blocked Chaudhary’s campaign road and chanted slogans for the third consecutive day on Sunday.
“Mamata Banerjee is leading a roadshow in Berhampore because TMC knows she will have a tough time. I will face every move they make,” said Chaudhary, who lost his Berhampore Lok Sabha seat to TMC’s Yusuf Pathan in 2024.
With agency input
