With just hours to go before the May 4 vote counting for the 2026 Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have made a major allegation against the Election Commission (EC) that could affect the outcome of the polls.
About 1,000 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips, allegedly for the Noapara constituency, were found discarded in (and around) a drain by locals in the Subhash Nagar area of Nilganj, which falls under the Madhyamgram constituency.
Visuals from the scene show the white VVPAT slips lying in a dirty pile, mixed with other waste. The party symbols of the TMC, CPI(M), and the BJP could also be seen on the slips, some of which were unclear because of the dirt on them.
Both Madhyamgram and Noapara are a part of West Bengal's politically important North 24 Parganas district, and are about 15km apart.
"The police were immediately sent to the spot after receiving information. We are investigating how the VVPAT slips reached there. The Election Commission has also been informed," said District Magistrate Shilpa Gaurisaria, as per a Times of India report.
The report added that the recovered slips were allegedly from the Garulia Hindi Free Primary School (booth 29), located within the Garulia Municipality, which falls under the Noapara constituency.
Candidates contesting the Noapara seat include Trinankur Bhattacharya from the TMC, Gargi Chattopadhyay from the CPI(M), and Arjun Singh from the BJP.
Bhattacharya has alleged that most of the discarded VVPAT slips had TMC symbols on them, followed by the ones with CPI(M) symbols, adding that this was a major security lapse by the EC. The CPI(M) candidate, however, alleged that the most number of slips discarded had her party's symbol on them.
Notably, this comes after West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal had reiterated on Sunday that all preparations had been made for vote counting in a secure, fair manner.
"A three-tier security arrangement has been made ... CCTV cameras have also been installed outside the hall ... All responsibilities have been divided. If there is any negligence, action will be taken. Security forces, CAPF, everyone has been briefed," he had said earlier on Sunday.