Ruckus at counting centre in Mamata's constituency as alleged BJP vehicles enter premises

Tension flared outside the counting centre for Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur constituency on Sunday after Trinamool Congress workers alleged that two vehicles carrying Bharatiya Janata Party flags were allowed inside the premises where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being stored ahead of counting day.

The incident occurred at the Sakhawat Memorial Girls School counting centre in Kolkata, a day before votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled to be counted on 4 May.

TMC workers raise alarm

TMC workers stationed near the counting centre claimed the vehicles approached the strongroom area despite heavy restrictions around the premises.

“The CAPF personnel at the spot are not allowing any vehicle or person to enter the premises of the counting centre without valid identity proof. Then how come this car, which we have not seen in the past few days, was allowed entry? Once we protested, the central forces asked us to move 100 metres away,” a TMC activist alleged.

The party claimed police personnel assured them the vehicle would be removed but said it remained inside the area for some time.

A senior Election Commission of India official denied wrongdoing and said the vehicle was merely passing through Harish Mukherjee Road.

The official stated that security personnel checked the car and allowed it to leave after finding “nothing objectionable”.

Comes after Mamata’s sit-in protest

The latest controversy comes just days after Mamata Banerjee herself staged a nearly four-hour sit-in outside the same counting centre on Thursday night.

The chief minister had then alleged that unauthorised individuals had entered the strongroom premises where EVMs are stored.

Despite publicly expressing confidence about a “landslide victory”, Banerjee has repeatedly alleged the possibility of “counting malpractice and EVM tampering”.

TMC protests spreading across Bengal

Similar tensions have emerged at multiple counting centres across West Bengal since polling concluded on 29 April.

At the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre, TMC leaders Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh staged a sit-in protest alleging lack of transparency and suspicious activity around strongrooms in the absence of party agents.

In Howrah, TMC workers protested against public works department renovation activity near a strongroom facility, after which authorities temporarily halted the work.

On Saturday, the party also lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra centre.

CCTV allegations in other districts

Protests were also reported from Asansol College in Paschim Bardhaman district and Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas district.

TMC workers there alleged that CCTV cameras monitoring strongrooms had been switched off for several minutes.

The Election Commission rejected the allegations and maintained that surveillance systems functioned continuously without interruption.

BJP dismisses charges

The BJP dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

BJP spokesperson Sajal Ghosh said the accusations were ironic given the TMC’s own political record.

“The people of Bengal are finding it hilarious that the TMC, which used to win elections through unfair means and strongarm tactics, are now coming up with all sorts of frivolous charges,” he said.

“Are they scared of losing?” he asked.

The standoff reflects the growing atmosphere of mistrust and political tension ahead of one of the most closely watched Assembly election results in recent years.

With both the BJP and TMC claiming confidence, counting day is expected to witness intense scrutiny around strongrooms, EVM movement and vote tabulation across the state.