A fresh controversy has erupted after the BJP alleged electoral malpractice in some polling booths in Falta, West Bengal, amid the Phase 2 elections.
They said that the malpractice occurred in the Diamond Harbour region in the South 24 Paraganas, which is a stronghold of the TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.
The BJP said that the several polling booths in Falta had tape placed over the party’s button on the EVMs, which allegedly prevented voters from selecting the BJP.
The BJP leaders accused the ruling TMC of attempting to influence voting through the manipulation of EVMs and demanded a re-polling in all the booths where the alleged irregularities were reported.
Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell head, made a post on social media making the allegations about the tape removing the BJP option.
“This is the so-called ‘Diamond Harbour model’, the same model that helped Abhishek Banerjee win the Lok Sabha seat,” he alleged. He also shared videos from one such booth .
The TMC has denied all the allegations and dismissed them as baseless.
The party laid the blame on the IPS officer and election observer Ajay Pal Sharma instead for poll management. The TMC leader also referred to earlier threats made against the observer and claimed that their candidate had been threatened.
Trinamool spokesperson Riju Dutta said that Malviya should take up the issue with the Election Commission rather than making online posts. "The entire thing is under the purview of the Election Commission. What are they doing? Rather than tweeting, Amit Malviya should complain to his bosses to immediately sack (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar. (Police observer) Ajay Pal Sharma should also be suspended because they have not been able to deliver what BJP wanted. What are we supposed to do if there is EVM tampering? It is not under our purview. We are not doing it. What is the EC doing?" Dutta told NDTV.
EC sources had said that the they would verify the reports and that the booths would go for re-polling if the allegations are found to be true.