West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with all party counting agents on Saturday, two days ahead of the counting of votes for the Assembly elections.
According to a senior TMC leader, the 4 pm meeting will be attended by counting agents from 291 Assembly constituencies where the party has fielded candidates. The remaining three seats in the Darjeeling hills were contested by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, led by Anit Thapa.
The leadership is expected to brief agents on their responsibilities to ensure a smooth counting process on May 4.
The session will cover key procedural aspects, including counting rounds and protocols to be followed once electronic voting machines (EVMs) are brought out of strong rooms. Agents will also be advised to remain technologically adept, as QR codes have been introduced by the Election Commission as part of enhanced security measures.
Party leaders said such virtual interactions had been regularly conducted during the revision of electoral rolls between November and February, with Abhishek Banerjee holding multiple meetings with booth-level agents. However, no such meetings were held after the announcement of the polls in March.
With results approaching, the TMC leadership is focusing on strengthening coordination among its agents at counting centres. The upcoming meeting is being viewed as an effort to ensure preparedness and vigilance.
Meanwhile, Banerjee has spent hours at the EVM strongroom in her Bhabanipur constituency, alleging the possibility of malpractice.
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal, however, maintained that there was no scope for wrongdoing at counting centres.
In a video message on Thursday, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain round-the-clock vigil at EVM strongrooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
( With inputs from PTI)