Mamata storms EVM strongroom; TMC, BJP lock horns over tampering claims: How late-night drama unfolded | India News

New Delhi: The streets of Kolkata witness a showdown between them Election Commission And the Trinamool Congress days after the West Bengal Assembly elections, when the latter staged a sit-in protest alleging irregularities inside the EVM strongroom.Complaints of procedural errors, TMC The leaders claimed that the party workers stationed outside the strongroom were asked to leave in the afternoon and were later informed that the strongroom would be reopened at 4 pm.Talking about the incident, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, “Party workers and supporters were present outside the strongroom till 3.30 pm. Suddenly an email was sent saying that the strong room will be reopened at 4 pm. We contacted our workers and they said they have left. We rushed here then. Now we are not being allowed to enter.” BJP are invited.”In a post on X, the TMC described the “act” as “murder of democracy in open daylight”, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of colluding with the Election Commission to tamper with ballot boxes and EVMs during the ongoing voting process.In a strongly worded statement, the party claimed that CCTV footage showed ballot boxes being opened without the presence of authorized representatives of political parties, calling it a “gross electoral fraud”.The TMC also alleged that efforts such as voter intimidation, deletion of names and misuse of central forces had failed, prompting the BJP to resort to “desperate measures” such as tampering with EVMs.“CCTV footage has exposed how the BJP, in active connivance with @ECISVEEP, is opening ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders. This is massive electoral fraud taking place openly with the full knowledge and protection of the Election Commission,” TMC posted.Mamata reached the counting centerThe situation became more heated after the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee Reached the counting center of Bhavanipur assembly constituency, heavy rain in the city.Claiming that her party had received reports of EVM tampering in many parts of the state, Mamata said, “There is a strongroom for EVMs. We found that tampering is happening in many places. When I saw the CCTV on TV, I thought I should go and see. Initially, the central forces did not allow me to enter. But as per our election rules candidates and election agents of any party are allowed up to the Silgala room.“The Chief Minister also appealed to the citizens to maintain peace and harmony at this crucial time. He said, victory is certain.“Bangla refuses to bow down to the Bohiragotos of Delhi and Gujarat, who want to subjugate a people whose souls they will never understand. Every act of injustice against our people, every excess, and every heavy-handed strategy by the BJP and its central forces will be answered. Once results are obtained, every transgression will be paid in full through the brute force of the democratic process,” TMC wrote in X.BJP countered Trinamool’s strikeThe TMC’s protest was countered by the BJP after leaders from Maniktala and Chowranji reached the spot. They confronted senior police officers about why TMC workers were allowed to gather at sensitive places and raise slogans.BJP leaders present at the venue alleged that the TMC was “creating a false narrative and lying to the people”.“I came to know about the ruckus and rushed to the spot and saw TMC supporters shouting outside the venue, which they cannot do in such a sensitive place. They should not have been allowed to gather here. They verbally abused us,” said Tapas Roy.“I heard that the district election officer took the TMC candidates inside to show that there was nothing wrong in the strongroom,” he added.BJP workers also blocked the movement of a TMC vehicle for allegedly carrying suspicious items.“There is something in the car. Mamata Banerjee has brought something in her car. The car will not be allowed to move,” demanded an activist.Another BJP worker said, “They (TMC) will keep duplicate machines and tamper with them… What is the TMC car doing outside the counting centre?”The EC refused chargeWest Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, however, said the EVMs’ strong rooms are “safe and secure” and insisted there was no “controversy” in the incident.“No CCTV has been switched off. There are 8 strong room CCTV footages, 7 EVMs and 1 postal ballot, being telecasted. People of political parties can watch it outside the three-tier security. When our staff was opening the postal ballot room they saw some movement around 4 pm, political parties informed all candidates as per rules and informed all candidates. (Returning Officer), Agarwal told news agency ANI. “They should have come here…after 4 pm, 3 candidates came, and they saw everything that the EVM strong rooms were sealed while the postal ballot strong room was open. Then the 3 left,” Agarwal said.He said, “There will be no law and order situation. These incidents will happen. The law and order situation is fine. It will be 100% clean and tidy like the elections.”Aggarwal asserted that the election body had “nothing to hide”, insisting that they would not allow any “problems” to occur in the polling process.In an apparent reference to the video posted on Trinamool Congress’s X handle, officials said all strong rooms including polled EVMs have been securely secured and sealed. They noted that there was regular segregation of postal ballots.HC dismissed TMC’s pleaIn another development, the Calcutta High Court also rejected the TMC’s plea challenging the Election Commission of India’s order to deploy central government and PSU employees for counting of votes.The Court upheld the validity of the decision requiring Central Government/PSU employees to act as supervisors and assistants and dismissed the writ petition.It observed that any grievance can be raised through an election petition under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.Earlier, Mamata had alleged that “observers from outside” and police officers unfamiliar with Bengal were deployed to target TMC workers during the second phase of polling.The SIR fears to dominate Bengali elections and is believed to be the cause of Bengal’s highest voter turnout since independence. However, political tensions between the TMC and the BJP also rose over the deployment of security forces on polling day.Centre-state rivalry, controversy over particularly intensive revision of the electoral roll, and several other factors have made the Bengal Assembly election one of the most hotly contested in recent memory.Most exit polls predict a neck-and-neck fight between the TMC and the BJP, with surveys putting both parties on about 145 seats in the 294-member assembly, with smaller parties and independents expected to have a small presence.