Kolkata: A scuffle broke out between workers of the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outside the counting centre at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday, following allegations by Trinamool leaders of “suspicious movements” inside a strong room.
Trinamool Congress candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a protest outside the gate of the counting centre, alleging irregularities linked to the strong room at the adjacent Khudiram Anushilan Kendra here.
Workers of both parties raised slogans against each other, leading to a brief confrontation.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee reached the strong room at the Shakhawat Memorial counting centre, where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) of her Bhabanipur Assembly constituency are kept.
She remained at the site for more than two to three hours, keeping vigil outside the strong room in her capacity as a candidate.
Trinamool Congress candidate from Kolkata Port constituency, Firhad (Bobby) Hakim, also visited the location.
After reviewing the arrangements, Mamata Banerjee instructed Trinamool candidates across the state to remain alert and maintain vigilance outside strong rooms through the night. She advised that candidates ensure continuous presence, making necessary arrangements for food, water, and rotation of personnel.
At Netaji Indoor Stadium, while Trinamool candidates Kunal Ghosh (Beleghata) and Shashi Panja (Shyampukur) were present, BJP candidates Santosh Pathak (Chowrangee) and Tapas Roy (Maniktala) also reached the venue and objected to the Trinamool gathering outside the strong room.
Following a few hours of protest and police intervention, the Trinamool candidates withdrew their demonstration after receiving assurances from the Election Commission. BJP workers also called off their protest subsequently.
Apart from alleging suspicious movement inside the strong room, the Trinamool Congress also raised concerns over alleged non-compliance with rules relating to postal ballots.
The Election Commission, however, denied the allegations and said that candidates had been informed in advance about postal ballot procedures through email communication.
According to the Commission, the strong room at Netaji Indoor Stadium houses EVMs from seven Assembly constituencies in north Kolkata.
After polling concluded on Wednesday, all strong rooms were sealed in the presence of candidates, election agents, and observers, with the final strong room being sealed at 5:15 a.m. on Thursday.
The Commission added that a separate strong room for postal ballots has been set up at the adjacent Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, where postal ballots from different centres have been stored and sorted constituency-wise.
Questioning the alleged movement inside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, Kunal Ghosh said, “There were party workers and supporters in front of the strong room till 3.30 p.m., but they were later removed. In the meantime, an email was suddenly sent stating that the strong room would reopen at 4 p.m. We contacted our workers, who said they had already left. We then rushed back to the spot.”
Ghosh also placed several demands, including installation of CCTV cameras at the postal ballot strong room, live display of footage outside, permission for candidate representatives to monitor the screens, and no obstruction from police personnel.
After the Election Commission assured necessary measures, the Trinamool candidates withdrew their protest.
–IANS
