TMC accuses EC of voter fraud in West Bengal: ‘Epic scam’

O’Brien said that in its response, the poll body had “admitted” an error, but it had not “accepted” it.

“Voters will not be allowed to vote, and their votes will be cast by people with identical EPIC numbers. These people will be sneaked in from other states. (It is) Unacceptable,” O’Brien said.

He also raised questions on the timing of EC’s statement Sunday, which came just two hours after the TMC announced its press conference. “Was someone caught red-handed?” he asked.

In the statement Sunday, the Election Commission said while the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers of some voters “may be identical”, other details such as demographic information, Assembly constituency and polling booth are different.

“Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective constituency in their state or Union territory where they are enrolled in the electoral rolls and nowhere else,” EC said.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said Sunday that EC’s statement “confirms our claims that there are names in the electoral list which had been included after the conclusion of previous polls. “This is aimed at helping BJP get more votes,” said Ghosh.

On the other hand, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC is “scared of losing power in the next Assembly polls as it won’t be able to manipulate the public mandate through terror, intimidation, and false voting”.