Bengal face late-night situation as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised concerns about tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs). CM Mamata Banerjee inspects strongroom when her party held protest there.
With just two days until the vote counting for the important Assembly elections, the Trinamool claimed that ballot boxes were opened without authorized party representatives present, shortly after the second and final phase of polling ended in the state.
Mamata Banerjee Makes Late-Night Bhabanipur Strong Room Inspection
Mamata Banerjee and her election agent visited the counting center for the Bhabanipur Assembly segment at Sakhawat Memorial School in Kolkata on Thursday evening, alleging possible wrongdoing.
After nearly four hours in the strongroom, she came out around 12:07 am, sounding defiant. She warned against any attempts to meddle with the counting process. “Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installing a CCTV camera for the media,” she told.
TMC vs BJP in Kolkata
Emphasizing the need for transparency, she said, “People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter. If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated.”
During this time, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who is also a Trinamool candidate from the Kolkata Port seat, arrived at the location but could not meet CM.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is running against Banerjee in Bhabanipur, shared a video on X showing his election agent closely monitoring the EVM strongroom where the Chief Minister spent hours.
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