West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lashed out at Election Commission-appointed poll observers and central forces, accusing them of indulging in “terrorism” and acting at the behest of the BJP.
Banerjee, who is the TMC candidate from Bhabanipur, visited several polling booths in her assembly constituency where voting is underway and alleged that “new people” brought in were “doing whatever they want” during the ongoing voting process.
She also alleged that all TMC party flags had been removed beforehand and claimed that outsiders were interfering with the polling process.
"There is a court order, but they (CRPF) are saying they will not obey it. We have issued a contempt of court notice, yet so many observers have come from outside. Whatever the BJP says, they are doing. Just look around, all our posters have been removed," Banerjee told reporters.
"Is this how polls take place? Votes will be cast by voters, not by the police or security forces. Some new people have recently been brought in, and they are doing whatever they want. They are doing terrorism," she added.
The Bhabanipur assembly segment is Banerjee's political bastion, where she is locked in a prestige battle against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in what is being seen as a symbolic rematch of Nandigram, where he had defeated her in the 2021 assembly polls.
The TMC supremo, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence in the afternoon on polling day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, went out before 8 am and visited several polling stations in the constituency, including those in the Chetla area of south Kolkata.
She later sat outside a polling station at Chakraberia in Bhabanipur and spoke to reporters, alleging irregularities and accusing the BJP of trying to influence the polling process through central forces and observers.
Banerjee further claimed that some people from outside the state were trying to create disturbances in the constituency and sought immediate intervention from the Election Commission. The TMC supremo also hit out at alleged attacks on TMC agents and said that "BJP wants to forcefully rig the election."
"Look how our worker was beaten up at night. Just look at this atrocity. What kind of hooliganism is going on? Voting does not happen like this. Voting happens peacefully. It is a festival of democracy. But they have completely ruined it. The intention is very clear that the BJP wants to forcefully rig the election. Our workers and people are ready to die, but they will not leave the place," Banerjee said.
"We want that the voting procedures are carried out peacefully. However, many officials and observers have been brought in who don't understand Bengal. There are some observers who are targeting TMC agents... Yesterday night CRPF, without police, attacked the house of the councillor of 70 number ward. He was not home at the time, only his wife and child was there, they still vandalised his house," she added.
The second and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 has officially commenced, preceded by rigorous mock polls across the state's high-stakes corridors. The scale of the final phase is massive, covering nearly half of the state's total assembly seats, 142 (out of 294).
The second phase of polling is crucial in shaping the electoral trajectory in the state, with 142 constituencies in Bengal going to vote. Authorities have put in place elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth and peaceful polling across regions.
After a record-shattering voter turnout in the first phase, West Bengal enters its second and final phase of polling today. This round is widely seen as the "litmus test" for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), as voting moves into the party's traditional fortresses in South Bengal and Kolkata.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
