Scenes of chaos continued to grip West Bengal on Friday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) continued to trade barbs ahead of the counting of votes in the Assembly elections scheduled on May 4.
Allegations of strong room irregularities haunted Bengal again on Friday, a day after the TMC led by Chief Minister Mamata staged a sit-in outside central Kolkata’s Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting center for several Assembly constituencies that house EVM strong rooms, amid allegations of “erratic activities” inside the facility. Track updates on Assembly elections
BJP leaders on Friday complained to the Bidhannagar Sub-District Officer (SDO) after an aid room was opened without permission, news agency PTI reported, adding that six officials were suspended.
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BJP leader and Bidhannagar candidate Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay said the fortified room was opened “early” and had been opened at least 10 times.
“We have a strong room here, and we were given a schedule specifying when it would be opened. Accordingly, we all arrived on time. After arriving there, we found that the strong room was already open. It was not open at that moment. We wondered why it was opened so early when the work had not started properly. Later, after inquiring, we were informed that this strong room had not been opened once or twice, but at least ten times before. The work assigned to us here, specifically for compartments 116 and Mukhopadhyay: “Order No. 117, had just been finalized regarding segregation and postal balloting, so we asked who had authorized the opening and why we were not informed about it.”
TMC sit-in on Thursday
A major political row erupted in Bengal on Thursday, a day after the second and final phase of voting, with the TMC alleging irregularities in some powerful chambers in central Kolkata. TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Banga staged a protest sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, claiming that live feed footage from CCTV cameras revealed the presence of outsiders inside the strong rooms who were “manipulating ballot papers” from machines.
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“The party workers and supporters were present outside the barricaded room till 3.30 pm. Suddenly, an email was sent informing us that the barricaded room will be opened again at 4 pm. We called our workers, and they said they left. Then we rushed here. Now we are not allowed to enter. The room will be opened again,” Ghosh, who is contesting from Belighata, claimed.
However, the Election Commission rejected the allegations regarding the handling of ballot materials at the centre, stating that polling officials were engaged in the task of segregating postal ballots in accordance with due process and that the fortified rooms remained secure.
“Ballots are being transported in. However, the CEO says nothing has happened. If postal ballots were being processed, where did they come from? If an email was sent, why were we not informed?” Ghosh added.
Mamata’s allegations
These developments took place hours after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, through a video message, urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to continue the 24-hour protest at the strong rooms housing electronic voting machines. “You must guard the counting stations. If necessary, I will also go to guard my district. Candidates must guard themselves. Stay awake. If I can do it, you can too. There is a plan to change the machines while moving the electronic voting machines. Don’t take this seriously.”
“I know for sure that the exit poll numbers that appeared on television were distributed from the BJP office at 1.08 pm on Wednesday. A section of the media has been pressured to publish them as our tally may reach 230 as well. We are definitely crossing the 226 mark,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has ordered re-polling at 15 booths in South 24 Parganas district, declaring the voting held at these booths in the second phase on April 29 “invalid.”
