Kolkata:
Hours before the counting of votes in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Sunday reacted to the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M)’s allegation that Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips were found in a drain in the North 24 Parganas district, saying they were “mock poll” slips and weren’t linked to actual polling.
“Prima facie, upon examination of the images circulated on social media, it appears that the VVPAT paper slips shown are mock poll slips used during the commissioning stage, and not related to the actual poll conducted,” Anrindam Neogi, Joint Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, said in a statement.
“Further, a detailed enquiry has been initiated, and a formal complaint has been lodged with the concerned authority for verification and necessary action,” he added.
The district election officer of North 24 Parganas seconded the CEO in an X post.
“Upon examination, it has been found that the VVPAT paper slips shown are related to a mock poll done before poll day and are not related to the actual poll conducted on poll day. A detailed enquiry has been initiated, and a formal complaint has been lodged for verification and action,” it added.
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Trinamool, CPI(M) Demand Probe
Several VVPAT slips were found in a roadside drain in Madhyamgram in the district. Police seized the slips, which allegedly belonged to the Naopara Assembly seat.
The Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal and attached a video as evidence.
CPI(M) candidate from the Naopara seat, Gargi Chatterjee, also demanded a probe into the incident.
The discarded VVPAT slips allegedly came from Booth Number 29 in the Noapara Assembly constituency.
Photo Credit: ANI
“This is the state of the Election Commission. It isn’t the ‘Nirvachan’ Commission. It’s the ‘Nirjatan’ (oppressive) Commission. Some slips of my name, some of the BJP, and two to three slips of the TMC candidate are lying here… A worker from our party saw this here. He called me. We called the CEO, but he doesn’t have time for the CPIM…We’ll demand an investigation, and the counting process can’t start till they show us the EVM unit…Most of the slips are of my name,” she said.
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Votes in West Bengal will be counted on May 4.
On Saturday, the Election Commission announced repolling in Bengal’s Falta seat, citing electoral offences.
Repolling in the seat will happen on May 21, and votes will be counted on May 24, according to the poll body.
