The saffron party wrote a letter to the West Bengal chief electoral officer stating, “We have been raising the issue of non-permanent/ contractual/ third party employees during the entire poll process, for a long time… We are getting news from some constituencies that in complete disregard of the guideline there has been large-scale empanelment of such non-permanent/ casual employees. We once again draw your attention to the provisions of the Handbook for Returning Officers… Similarly, the staff of local bodies should also not be appointed for counting of votes.”
Alleging that the Mamata Banerjee government was trying to influence the counting process, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said in an X post, “Mamata Banerjee, in order to influence counting and steal the mandate, has ordered 1 Officer and 2 Constables of the Directorate of Security (West Bengal), to be placed in the Counting Centres. This is in gross violation of extant rules. The list of officers and constables will be submitted to the CEO EC WB.”
The CPI(M), too, in a letter to the CEO requested the poll panel not to engage any casual or contractual employees in the counting process. “We believe that the TMC will try to influence the counting process with the help of these employees if they are engaged in the counting process. Therefore, we have urged the commission not to engage these employees in the entire process,” said senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty.
In a video message, Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Monday stated that the mandate of the people must be respected. “We should be vigilant against miscreants and gangsters trying to make use of the opportunity by creating havoc in society through violence,” Governor Bose said. Political violence-related complaints can be reported to the Peace Room of the Raj Bhavan, he added.
The TMC, meanwhile, asked its counting agents to remain inside the counting halls until the last vote was counted. TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday evening held an emergency online meeting with party leaders and formulated a multi-pronged strategy for the counting agents.
Sources in the party said the move was aimed at boosting the morale of party workers ahead of counting, following exit polls which showed the BJP winning 23 to 27 of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal.
“We all know what happened in Nandigram. The counting agents left before the counting of votes from four EVMs was completed. So, this time agents must stay inside the counting hall until the last EVM is counted. They need to check all necessary documents and demand the counting of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in case of any doubt,” said a party leader.
Senior TMC leaders have been appointed to supervise the entire counting process for each of the 42 Lok Sabha seats with a special focus on 20 seats where a close fight is anticipated.
In the 2021 state Assembly polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost the election from Nandigram by a margin of 1,956 votes. However, the TMC had alleged that there were irregularities in the counting process and their counting agents had left the hall before the process was completed.
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