On Monday, Bengal's electoral fate will be decided based on 293 seats as the Election Commission on Saturday countermanded the elections held in the Falta assembly constituency, citing electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process during polling at a large number of polling stations.
Repoll Ordered
A repoll has been ordered for May 21, with counting of votes scheduled for May 24. This marks the first time in Bengal that an entire assembly constituency will vote after the results for the assembly elections are declared.
EVM Tampering Found
Investigation into complaints revealed tampering of EVMs at several booths by applying black masking tapes and ink on buttons, the EC said. EVMs in as many as 60 polling stations were found to have been tampered with, amounting to 21% of the total number of polling stations in the constituency (285). As many as 22.82% of electors, or 53,967 of the total 2.36 lakh, were enrolled for voting at these polling stations. Therefore, this compromised the integrity of the recorded votes and made it impossible to ascertain the mandate of the electorate, the EC added. The possibility of this happening elsewhere in Falta cannot be ruled out due to a lack of video footage.
Protests and Arrests
On Saturday, protests erupted in Falta's Hasimnagar, where a section of villagers alleged they were being threatened by associates of Trinamool's Falta candidate Jahangir Khan. DIG Ajaypal Sharma, police observer for Diamond Harbour, rushed to the scene to pacify the villagers, who claimed police inaction despite complaints. A large number of police and central force personnel were deployed in the area. Following the incident, the EC ordered the arrest of two of Khan's aides, Izrafil Chokdar and Sujauddin Sheikh.
