ECI rejects TMC allegation on abandoned VVPAT slips in Bengal

The ECI rejected Trinamool Congress’s allegations that VVPAT slips were abandoned near a petrol pump in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas. The District Magistrate clarified that the slips shown in the video evidence were from the mandatory mock poll conducted before voting began, not from the actual polling process.

Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday rejected allegations by the Trinamool Congress that VVPAT paper slips used during polling in the Noyapara Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on April 29 were found abandoned near a petrol pump in Madhyamgram in the same district.

Earlier in the day, the Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, regarding the matter and attached a video as evidence.

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However, on Sunday evening, the District Magistrate (DM), who is also the District Electoral Officer (DEO) of North 24 Parganas, issued an official denial.

The DM/DEO clarified that the VVPAT paper slips shown in the video were not those used during the actual polling process. Instead, the slips were from the mock poll conducted prior to the start of polling, which is a mandatory exercise to demonstrate to polling agents of different political parties that when a button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is pressed in favour of a particular candidate, the vote is recorded accordingly.

“Upon examination, it has been found that the VVPAT paper slips shown are related to the mock poll conducted 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,” a statement issued by the DM/DEO of North 24 Parganas on Sunday night said.

All Assembly constituencies in North 24 Parganas district, including Noyapara, went to the polls in the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on April 29.

The counting of votes will start at 8 a.m. on Monday, and by noon the trends are expected to become clear. The two-phase polling in West Bengal was conducted on April 23 and April 29, with a record turnout of nearly 93 per cent.