KOLKATA: A day after the second and final phase of polling in 142 Assembly constituencies across seven districts in West Bengal, a team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday conducted an on-the-spot visit to Diamond Harbour to review demands for repolling in around 77 booths across four constituencies.
The ECI team, led by Special Roll Observer for West Bengal Dr Subrata Gupta, visited Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district to review polling in Falta, Diamond Harbour, Magrahat and Budge Budge Assembly constituencies.
According to Gupta, the Commission received 32 complaints seeking repolling from Falta, 29 from Diamond Harbour, 13 from Magrahat and three from Budge Budge. Except Magrahat, the other three fall under Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, while Magrahat is under Joynagar.
With heavy deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), led by UP-based IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, the Commission has paid special attention to Falta due to its history of alleged polling irregularities.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Abhishek Banerjee won from Diamond Harbour with a margin of over seven lakh votes, the highest in the country, prompting opposition parties to allege large-scale false voting, booth jamming and intimidation.
Taking into account past allegations, the ECI is closely examining demands for repolling in 77 booths across the four constituencies. Such demands are typically made citing issues like EVM malfunction, booth capturing, voter intimidation or violations of voting secrecy.
Officials said complaints received after polling included allegations of EVM tampering, use of substances on machines and attempts to obstruct surveillance cameras.
Acting on these reports, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar directed Gupta to conduct ground-level inspections before any decision on repolling is taken.
Gupta is currently assessing the situation and holding discussions with other observers. A final decision will be taken after his inspection, and if required, repolling in affected booths could be held as early as Friday.
A serious allegation also emerged from Magrahat Paschim in the Diamond Harbour area, where it was claimed that spy cameras were placed in voters’ shirt pockets to monitor their voting choices.
“The instructions are clear - assess everything on the ground before taking a call,” an official said.
(With inputs from PTI)