West bengal elections: CM Mamata Banerjee claims bid to open EVMs, EC says boxes secure

KOLKATA: Central Kolkata’s Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the designated countingcentre for seven north andeast Kolkata assembly constituencies, witnessed a confrontation between Trinamool Congress and BJP lateThursday after CM MamataBanerjee’s party allegedtampering of EVMs by “unknown people” purportedlycaught on CCTV enteringthe strongrooms there.

CEO Manoj Agarwal dismissed allegations of EVMsand postal ballots being tampered with. “There is nothingsuspicious about it. Thestrongroom is ringed bythree-tier security. No one canenter except for authorised officers,” he told reporters.



TMC candidates ShashiPanja and Kunal Ghosh staged a roadside protest therewhile CM Mamata camped atSakhawat Memorial HighSchool, the strongroom forthe Bhowanipore seat thatshe is contesting againstBJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.CAPF and Kolkata Policepersonnel ringed bothstrongrooms amid sloganeering by TMC and BJP workers eyeballing each other.

Mamata urged her party'scandidates across all 294 constituencies to maintain a round-the-clock vigil at EVMstrongrooms until May 4, saying there would be attempts totamper with EVMs.The stand-off escalatedafter TMC released CCTV footage of what it claimed wasan intrusion into KhudiramAnushilan Kendra.

Ghosh alleged manipulation of postalballots. Kolkata North district election officer SmitaPandey reached the countingcentre with senior KolkataPolice officers and spoke toGhosh and Panja, reassuringthem that nothing untowardhad occurred there.

Parties told in advance aboutpostal ballot segregation: Official

Kolkata North district election officer Smita Pandeytold Ghosh and Panja thatrepresentatives of the contesting parties had been informedbeforehand that segregation ofpostal ballots would take placeat 4pm. Every candidate ortheir representative was sentan email, she said.

The people seen in theCCTV footage — two men andas many women — were ECauthorised representativessegregating the postal ballots,Pandey said.She also told them that allstrongrooms containing polledEVMs were sealed and adequately secured.

The officer promised thecandidates that additionalCCTVs would be installed.Ghosh later said, “We questioned Election Commissionofficials over ballot boxes beingopened in the absence of stakeholders. They assured us that itwon't be repeated.”

The arrival of BJP candidates Tapas Ray and SantoshPathak soon after led to a freshconfrontation. “Trinamool isspreading rumours. If theygather here, we will also standvigil,” Ray said.

BJP and Trinamool workers clashed outside the centre,prompting CAPF and police tostep in, physically removethem, and set up a barricade.DEO Pandey and senior officers then made the rival candidates sit together and explained that all necessarysteps would be taken.

She insisted that they ask their supporters to disperse.In Bhowanipore, Mamata'spresence at the counting centreprompted BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari's representative, Suryaneel Das, to shout atpolice officials, questioningwhy a candidate was present inside for so long.

He alleged itwas unconstitutional.Earlier, posting a video onher social media pages, Mamata said she was prepared tokeep vigil through the night ifrequired. “If I can do it, so canyou,” she told party candidates. “Don't be negligent. Until I formally address thepress, no one should leave thecounting table.”

TMC also asked its candidates to collect Form 17C, usedduring counting to verify votessecured by candidates againstthe total accepted votes. Whileopposition parties have demanded that such data be madepublic within 48 hours, the ECis still to consider it.

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