After the high-intensity drama over tampering allegations in Kolkata on Thursday, ahead of the West Bengal assembly election results, the police have banned all kinds of gatherings in seven areas where votes are to be counted.
This has been done following the high drama at two counting centres over the Trinamool Congress’s allegations of suspicious activities.
The police’s prohibitory orders have been enforced in Sahid Kshudiram Bose Road, Judge’s Court Road, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour Road, Lord Sinha Hall, Naresh Mitra Sarani (Beltala Road) and Pramathesh Barua Sarani in Kolkata.
The strong rooms storing the EVMs and the centres where the votes will be counted on May 4 have all been fortified by the officials. A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been put in place at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting centre for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata, which houses EVM strong rooms.
“Additional CAPFs and armed police forces have also been deployed under the supervision of an additional commissioner and a deputy commissioner of police,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Kolkata, Rupesh Kumar, told reporters after visiting the area.
BJP and TMC workers clashed outside a counting centre in Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday night. TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja protested outside the counting centre gate. Workers of both the TMC and the BJP raised slogans, leading to a brief confrontation. Chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee came near the strong room at the Shakhawat Memorial counting centre and stayed there for hours.
What the West Bengal CEO said on TMC’s tampering allegations
West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal dismissed the TMC’s allegations of “suspicious activities” in EVM strongrooms in Kolkata.
“The strong rooms at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra house EVMs from seven assembly constituencies in north Kolkata. After polling ended on Wednesday, all strongrooms were properly closed and sealed in the presence of the concerned candidates, election agents, and observers. The last strong room was closed at 5.15 am on Thursday. There is another strong room for postal ballots at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. Postal ballots from various centres have been kept there. They were being sorted by the polling officials,” he said in a press conference.
The CEO said he had also told the returning officers to inform the concerned candidates and agents about this exercise.
“The returning officers informed the political parties through email. Separation of postal ballots began in the polling booth corridors from 4 pm. They are all safe, secured and locked. The representatives of both Trinamool Congress and the BJP have been shown everything,” he added.
The apex poll official in the state clarified that, since electricity connections are not allowed in strong rooms, postal ballot segregation for the seven assembly constituencies in Kolkata was being conducted in torchlight, which the ruling Trinamool leaders wrongly called “suspicious activities”.
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