West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI), expressing concerns over the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing a rally in Murshidabad's Samserganj, Banerjee urged voters to remain alert during the polling process. "The EVMs must be checked properly. Ask for VVPAT when you cast your vote. If an EVM malfunctions, don't let them repair it. Demand its replacement," she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
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Call for vigilance over EVMs
The Chief Minister also asked voters to ensure strict monitoring of EVMs after polling. "There will be several days between voting and counting. Ensure that Central (paramilitary) forces guarding the EVMs do not tamper with them. There is nothing they are not capable of doing. Maintain round-the-clock vigilance," Banerjee said.
West Bengal is scheduled to vote on April 23 and April 29, with counting set for May 4.
Responding to the allegations, BJP leader Debjit Sarkar criticised Banerjee's remarks. "Having realised that she won’t return to power, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has started working on all possible excuses for defeat at the hands of the masses," HT quoted him as saying.
Banerjee also raised the issue of deletion of names during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "Use your democratic power. Cast your votes to take revenge for deletion of people's names, and against the SIR so that the results reflect that," she said.
She urged those affected to file appeals before the tribunal.
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Warning to party candidates
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief cautioned her party's candidates to be careful while filing nominations. "Be careful while filing nomination papers. Take lawyers with you. Check the papers carefully. BJP has made all sorts of plans to get nomination papers rejected. Hand-picked officials have been deployed to reject nominations citing technical grounds," she claimed.
Banerjee also alleged that the BJP is bringing in supporters from outside the state. "BJP is not just bringing in voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They are bringing in crowds of paid supporters from those states," she added.
She later led a roadshow in Berhampore, where senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is contesting an Assembly seat after three decades.
