A high-voltage second phase of polling in West Bengal ended with late-night drama on Thursday, with Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee marching down to an EVM holding centre over allegations of vote manipulation. However, by the end of it, the high-intensity drama over alleged EVM tampering at a Kolkata strongroom ultimately turned out to be a false alarm.
The controversy was triggered by a Trinamool Congress tweet alleging suspicious movement inside Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in central Kolkata, where EVMs from all seven North Kolkata Assembly seats are stored.
By the time the video surfaced at around 8:30 pm, TMC candidates Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh were already at the site, staging a sit-in outside Netaji Indoor Stadium, barely 100 metres away.
Trinamool workers soon swelled in numbers amid reports that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on her way. However, she instead headed to the strongroom at Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, where she stayed for nearly four hours before emerging after midnight.
Around the same time, State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal clarified that Mamata Banerjee, not being a candidate or authorised agent for North Kolkata seats, could not enter the facility where the allegations had surfaced.
Back outside Netaji Indoor Stadium, tensions persisted, with BJP candidates Tapas Roy and Santosh Kumar Pathak objecting to the gathering of TMC leaders and supporters near the site.
WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE NORTH KOLKATA STRONGROOM
After the video of the alleged suspicious movement was tweeted by the TMC, party candidate Kunal Ghosh said their candidates had been present at the strongroom till 3:30 pm. He claimed they were asked to leave, after which it was reopened around 4 pm.
Ghosh said he called party workers at the site to check what was happening and was told they had already left. “Then Shashi and I rushed to the strongroom, but we were not being allowed to enter,” Ghosh told the media.
On the other hand, Agarwal, in his midnight presser, rejected Ghosh’s claims, saying it was a clear case of “miscommunication” and that candidates of the concerned Assembly constituencies had already been informed via email about the postal ballot process way in advance.
However, the protest soon fizzled out in the North Kolkata constituency after State CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal’s midnight press conference, following which Mamata Banerjee also came out of the strongroom in the South Kolkata constituency, where she had been staying.
WHAT DID THE ELECTION COMMISSION SAY
Beginning his presser just before midnight, Agarwal said he had been directed by the Election Commission to clear the air around the strongroom row.
He added that, as per rules, there cannot be any electricity inside the strongrooms, which is why torches were being used. District Election Officer (DEO) for North Kolkata, Smita Pandey, who was seated beside him, said that EVMs from all seven Assembly constituencies are sealed inside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra strongrooms.
The strongrooms remain sealed and locked, with CCTV cameras installed inside, the footage of which can be monitored from outside.
Smita Pandey further clarified that Khudiram Anushilan Kendra has seven EVM strongrooms and one strongroom for postal ballots for the North Kolkata Lok Sabha constituency. The movement that was observed was inside the strongroom designated for postal ballots, both Pandey and Agarwal said.
Across the state, postal ballot segregation was underway constituency-wise on Thursday. Postal ballots from different constituencies are exchanged accordingly, after which each constituency receives its own set.
She said Assistant Returning Officers were carrying out segregation work in the corridors. “The work is continuing even with the help of torchlights. All political parties were informed via email at 10 am that the process would begin at 4 pm. Returning Officers were instructed to inform candidates and their agents. Therefore, the claim that no information was given is false,” she said.
She added that postal ballot segregation is being carried out strictly as per rules. Polling personnel cast their votes through postal ballots. During the second phase, government employees voted at training centres, and those postal ballots were collected and stored.
THE OUTCOME
The EC’s presser effectively poured cold water on Mamata Banerjee and her party’s allegations. She had said she came to Sakhawat because “footage of tampering has emerged from places like Netaji Indoor.” However, no tampering was found.
Speaking outside Sakhawat, Mamata said, “EVMs from my constituency are kept here. Footage of tampering has emerged from places like Netaji Indoor. Outsiders are moving postal ballots around. That is why I came here.”
Even so, her message to party workers was clear -- maintain a strict 24/7 vigil outside strongrooms, with replacements in place even for loo breaks. The evening descended into chaos, and by the end of the night, it all came to nothing.
