Assembly Election 2026: Repoll underway at 15 booths in Bengal after EC order

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shantanu Sen on Friday demanded accountability from the Election Commission (EC) regarding a video of a strong room where Electronic Voting Machines were stored in Kolkata.

Trinamool has released a video alleging unauthorised access to EVM strong rooms and claimed . they were being opened without party representatives present. They have accused the opposition and the Election Commission of possible vote manipulation.

Sen questioned why security was tightened 48 hours after voting and insisted that representatives from all parties should be present, implying the need for transparency. — ANI

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Friday dubbed Trinamool Congress's allegations of voter tampering in EVM strong rooms as "drama", stating that the ruling party orchestrated the act for publicity.

Speaking with ANI, Adhikari stated that there's no need to give much weight to the allegations, adding that TMC is "going out of power" in West Bengal.

"This is all a drama. There is no ground reality to it. This is unnecessary. They are doing this for publicity. There is no need to give them much weightage," he said.

"TMC is about to lose. They are going out of power. They had turned politics into a profession. If TMC goes out, they will be completely ruined. We will get more seats than those required to form a government," he added. — ANI

The Election Commission on Friday said that all procedures have been completed in connection with the tallying of the votes polled in the April 9 Assembly elections in Kerala and issued a number of dos and don'ts to be followed by political parties' agents and the media during the counting process on May 4.

Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar said, in a statement, that the counting will begin at 8 am on May 4 at 140 centres located in 43 places and a total of 15,465 personnel will be involved in the process.

The personnel include, 140 Returning Officers (ROs), 1,340 Assistant ROs (AROs), 4,208 micro observers, 4,208 counting supervisors and 5,563 counting assistants, he said. — PTI

Polling stations going to re-poll in 143 - Diamond Harbour AC include:

The Election Commission of India has ordered repolling in 15 polling stations across West Bengal following complaints during the second phase of Assembly elections held on April 29. The fresh voting will take place on May 2 between 7 am and 6 pm, based on reports submitted by the state’s poll machinery.

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Daily commuters in Kolkata and adjoining areas continued to face severe hardship on Friday due to a shortage of buses, with a large number of vehicles still engaged in poll duty and unlikely to return before counting on May 4.

Acknowledging the situation, Joint Council of Bus Syndicate secretary Tapan Banerjee said more than 90 per cent of around 3,600 private buses requisitioned for the West Bengal polls have yet to report for duty.

Most of the buses are yet to be released after polling as they continue to be deployed for post-election duties, including the movement of security personnel and officials, and are expected to remain unavailable till the counting process scheduled for May 4, Banerjee told PTI.

The shortage has led to overcrowding in available modes of transport, especially the Metro Railways' Blue Line and Green Lines. — PTI

At least three incidents of alleged post-poll violence were reported from West Bengal's Murshidabad, Malda and North 24 Parganas districts, police said on Friday.

In Murshidabad district, a CPI(M) polling agent, identified as Ruhul Amin, was allegedly attacked on Thursday night at Lochanpur within Islampur police station limits.

According to party sources, Amin was assaulted at a tea stall by a group of local leaders allegedly led by a TMC regional functionary.

In another incident in Malda district, a BJP mandal president, Mahananda Mondal, was allegedly attacked by suspected TMC workers on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, police said five persons were injured, two of them seriously, in a clash between TMC and BJP workers at Dulduli Kakpara under Hingalganj police station in North 24 Parganas district. — PTI

As West Bengal recorded its highest-ever voter turnout in the just-concluded Assembly elections, the rising participation of women voters is among the major trends. Since 2011, women have turned out to vote in greater numbers than men across Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

This year, as per an Election Commission statement, the overall turnout in Bengal hit 92.47%, the highest ever in any Assembly or Lok Sabha election. Women’s turnout rose to 93.24%, while men’s turnout increased to 91.74%.

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TMC MP Saugata Roy on Friday raised concerns over alleged irregularities in strong room security ahead of vote counting, claiming attempts to influence the process and demanding strict monitoring by authorities.

Speaking to ANI, TMC MP Saugata Roy said, "Unauthorised people entered the strong room from outside. Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja also staged a protest regarding this. Some people want to tamper with the counting process. I also saw that some people from Gujarat were shouting slogans outside the Shekhawat Memorial Girls School, where the votes for the Chief Minister's constituency will be counted..." He further alleged political interference, adding, "We suspect that the BJP wants to interfere with the counting process, so the Chief Minister has warned everyone." — ANI

West Bengal recorded a strong turnout among third gender electors in the second phase of the assembly polls, with 91.28 per cent of them exercising their franchise, according to the Election Commission.

A total of 1,257 third gender electors turned up in two phases of West Bengal elections -- 465 in phase I and 792 in phase II.

The turnout stood at 56.79 per cent in phase I, while it rose sharply to 91.28 per cent in phase II.

Puducherry, however, recorded the highest overall turnout among third gender electors at 91.81 per cent in the recently-concluded assembly polls. The poll body said Puducherry has 139 third gender electors, of whom 91.81 per cent exercised their franchise.

Tamil Nadu has 7,728 third gender electors, out of which 60.49 per cent voted during the April 23 polls. — PTI

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spent hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency alleging possibilities of malpractices, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday asserted there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres.

Stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strong rooms was in place, he termed the allegations baseless.

TMC spokesperson and Beleghata constituency candidate Kunal Ghosh said that party workers and poll aspirants were keeping a strict vigil at the counting centres, where the EVMs are stored in strong rooms, upon directions of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

"There is no scope for any wrongdoing given the arrangements made," CEO Manoj Agarwal told reporters.

"One should have reason and evidence for making allegations," he said, maintaining that the complaints are baseless. — PTI