The Election Commission today responded to allegations from the Trinamool Congress regarding the use of “BJP tag” on the EVMs in the Bankura district. The controversy arose after the Mamata Banerjee-led party posted pictures of EVMs with paper tags labeled with “BJP” on social media platform X. In the post, the Trinamool Congress claimed, “Smt. @MamataOfficial has repeatedly flagged how @BJP4India was trying to rig votes by tampering with EVMs. And today, in Bankura’s Raghunathpur, 5 EVMs were found with BJP tags on them.”
Smt. @MamataOfficial has repeatedly flagged how @BJP4India was trying to rig votes by tampering with EVMs.
And today, in Bankura’s Raghunathpur, 5 EVMs were found with BJP tags on them.@ECISVEEP should immediately look into it and take corrective action! pic.twitter.com/aJwIotHAbX
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 25, 2024
The Trinamool Congress demanded immediate action from the Election Commission, stating, “@ECISVEEP should immediately look into it and take corrective action.”
In response, the Election Commission clarified the situation via a tweet, explaining the presence of the “BJP tag” on the EVMs. According to the poll body, during the commissioning of the EVMs, common address tags were signed by the candidates and their agents who were present. Since only the BJP candidate’s representative was available at the time in the commissioning hall, their signature was used for the commissioning of the EVM and VVPAT. The Election Commission emphasized that all procedures were conducted under CCTV surveillance and were properly videographed. Furthermore, the signatures of all agents present at polling stations numbered 56, 58, 60, 61, and 62 were obtained during the actual polling.
(2/1) While commissioning, common address tags were signed by the Candidates and their agents present. And since only BJP Candidate’s representative was present during that time in the commissioning hall, his signature was taken during commissioning of that EVM and VVPAT. pic.twitter.com/54p78J2jUe
— CEO West Bengal (@CEOWestBengal) May 25, 2024
This clarification comes as eight Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal are contested in the sixth phase of the general election today. The BJP, which made significant gains in the state during the last elections by winning 18 seats, is striving to improve its tally. Conversely, the Trinamool Congress aims to reclaim some of the seats it lost in the 2019 polls.
Notable candidates in these contested seats include fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, and Trinamool’s Debangshu Bhattacharya, who heads the party’s social media cell and authored its campaign anthem “Khela Hobe.”
