Kolkata: An atmosphere of intense pressure prevailed around the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in the central Kolkata area on Thursday and Friday morning when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) went all out with a protest march against electoral malpractice.
The venue, which functions as a secure counting center and strongroom for EVMs for a few North and East Kolkata constituencies, found itself embroiled in a political showdown a few days ahead of the planned vote counting process on May 4. The two TMC contestants, Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja, resorted to staging an emotional protest demonstration outside the venue, citing that they caught sight of “unauthorized persons fiddling with ballot papers” through live streaming of CCTV footage.
Ghosh further stated that the mail alert about the opening of the strongroom at 4:00 PM was sent only after the TMC workers were told to vacate the premises.
Rebuttal by EC
The EC reacted swiftly to allay such apprehensions. West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal rubbished the claims and clarified that the process being conducted on camera was that of segregating the postal votes in the corridor.
Mamata Banerjee in Vigil
The tension escalated when TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee made an unannounced midnight visit to the Sakhawat Memorial School strong room located in her Bhabanipur constituency in South Kolkata. “Suspicious of any attempt at tampering,” Ms Banerjee, the chief minister, spent around four hours inside. She then urged her party followers to continue a 24-hour vigil.
Legal Jolt for TMC
Further to add to the political tensions, the Calcutta High Court rejected an appeal filed by the Trinamool Congress against the directive by the Election Commission of India requiring the employment of Central Government and PSU employees alone as counting officers. According to Justice Krishna Rao, the Commission enjoys the privilege of employing individuals who are suitable for the job, and thus, nothing is “illegal” in the exclusion of state government employees from the process.
The state is set to conduct the last phase of its 2026 Assembly election counting on May 4.
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