A delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday met West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal and lodged a protest over alleged repeated CCTV disruptions at strongrooms where EVMs and VVPATs used during the Assembly polls are being stored ahead of counting on May 4.
In a letter submitted to the CEO, the party claimed surveillance systems at multiple strongroom locations had suffered intermittent failures, compromising continuous monitoring mandated under Election Commission guidelines. It argued that strongrooms storing polled machines must remain under uninterrupted 247 CCTV watch with access available to authorised party representatives.
The complaint listed alleged disruptions across several districts, including Kolkata, Jalpaiguri, Gaighata, Haripal, Sagardighi, Rampurhat and Ghatal. The TMC also flagged reported CCTV irregularities in constituencies such as Ausgram, Arambagh, Nalhati, Egra, Salboni, Tamluk, Patashpur, Indus, Harirampur, Balurghat, Raiganj, Islampur, Joynagar, Kasba and Satgachia, among others.
Calling the interruptions a serious breach of election protocols, the party demanded a statewide report on CCTV malfunctions, complete access to unedited surveillance footage and downtime logs, immediate restoration of all monitoring systems, and uninterrupted viewing access for authorised representatives.
The TMC warned that repeated technical failures could undermine public confidence and raise concerns about the security of stored EVMs and VVPATs.
The development came a day after TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in outside Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, alleging irregularities in strong room monitoring and possible mishandling of stored voting material. The protest led to tense exchanges between TMC and BJP supporters.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Sakhawat Memorial School, the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency in south Kolkata, where the EVMs are being stored. Banerjee remained at the centre for nearly four hours, until past midnight. She expressed concern over possible tampering and warned that any attempt to interfere with the counting process would not be tolerated.
Banerjee had urged party workers to maintain round-the-clock vigilance at counting centres, warning of possible tampering ahead of counting day.
The TMC shared live CCTV footage claiming that unauthorised individuals inside the strongroom premises were “fiddling with ballot papers” linked to postal ballots. The Election Commission rejected the allegation, clarifying that officials were carrying out routine segregation of postal ballots in accordance with established procedure and that strong rooms remained secure.
A day after Banerjee’s late-night visit, CEO Manoj Agarwal dismissed allegations of malpractice, asserting there was no scope for wrongdoing at counting centres. He said round-the-clock CCTV surveillance was operational and termed the tampering claims baseless.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened around counting centres across Kolkata and other districts, with police and central forces maintaining strict vigil around strong rooms storing EVMs ahead of counting day.
Voter turnout in the Assembly polls reached 92.93 per cent across two phases – the highest recorded in West Bengal since Independence. Phase II registered 92.67 per cent turnout, while Phase I on April 23 saw a higher participation rate of 93.19 per cent.
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