The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Wednesday said that any polling booth found with tampered Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) buttons will face repolling, amid allegations of irregularities in Falta under the Diamond Harbour constituency.
The statement came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised concerns during the second phase of Assembly elections, claiming that voters were unable to select its candidate in some booths.
The CEO said, “If reports of taping of any button come in, that should be verified and noted. If true, those booths will go for a repoll.”
The issue was flagged by BJP co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, who alleged that the BJP option on EVMs was blocked using tape in several polling booths in Falta. He demanded repolling in the affected areas and described the situation as a pattern.
In a post on X, Malviya wrote, “This is what Mamata Banerjee was defending when she spoke up for Jehangir Khan, a criminal contesting on a TMC ticket from Falta in Diamond Harbour. In several polling booths, the option to vote for the BJP has been blocked using a tape, effectively preventing voters from exercising their choice. This is the so-called 'Diamond Harbour Model,' the same template that helped Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee secure his Lok Sabha seat.”
In Diamond Harbour, the BJP has fielded Dipak Kumar Halder against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Panna Lal Halder. Both candidates are contesting against each other again after the previous election, where Panna Lal Halder won by a margin of 16,996 votes.
Polling for 142 seats in the second phase of the Assembly elections recorded a voter turnout of 39.97 per cent till 11 am. Among districts, Purba Bardhaman reported the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent.
In Kolkata, voter turnout stood at 38.39 per cent in the north and 36.78 per cent in the south during the same period.
The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
The statement came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised concerns during the second phase of Assembly elections, claiming that voters were unable to select its candidate in some booths.
The CEO said, “If reports of taping of any button come in, that should be verified and noted. If true, those booths will go for a repoll.”
The issue was flagged by BJP co-incharge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, who alleged that the BJP option on EVMs was blocked using tape in several polling booths in Falta. He demanded repolling in the affected areas and described the situation as a pattern.
In a post on X, Malviya wrote, “This is what Mamata Banerjee was defending when she spoke up for Jehangir Khan, a criminal contesting on a TMC ticket from Falta in Diamond Harbour. In several polling booths, the option to vote for the BJP has been blocked using a tape, effectively preventing voters from exercising their choice. This is the so-called 'Diamond Harbour Model,' the same template that helped Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee secure his Lok Sabha seat.”
In Diamond Harbour, the BJP has fielded Dipak Kumar Halder against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Panna Lal Halder. Both candidates are contesting against each other again after the previous election, where Panna Lal Halder won by a margin of 16,996 votes.
Polling for 142 seats in the second phase of the Assembly elections recorded a voter turnout of 39.97 per cent till 11 am. Among districts, Purba Bardhaman reported the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent.
In Kolkata, voter turnout stood at 38.39 per cent in the north and 36.78 per cent in the south during the same period.
The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
