Mamata Banerjee alleges tampering of vote machines at Bhabanipur EVM strong room, EC responds

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday rushed to Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, the counting centre for the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, where EVMs from the April 29 polls are stored in strong rooms, amid suspicions of malpractice and tampering of the voting machines.

Banerjee reached the venue in the evening, braving torrential rain in Kolkata, and was still inside as per the latest reports.

In a video message earlier in the day, Banerjee asked party leaders, candidates and workers to remain on high alert during counting and guard strong rooms housing the EVMs.

Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate for the Kolkata Port segment, Firhad Hakim, too reached the spot but failed to meet the chief minister, who had already moved inside the strong room along with her election agent.

"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn't meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn't allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said, while waiting outside the school premises.

The development comes amid heightened tensions, as  TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest outside Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms at the facility. The protest triggered face-offs between TMC and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters.

The demonstration came a day after the second phase of polling in the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, following which EVMs were secured in strong rooms at the centre.

Alleging procedural lapses, TMC leaders claimed party workers stationed outside the strongroom were asked to leave in the afternoon and later received information that the strongroom would be reopened at 4 pm.

Speaking on the incident, Ghosh claimed, "Party



workers and supporters were present outside the strongroom till 3.30 pm. Suddenly, an email was sent informing that the strongroom would be opened again at 4 pm. We contacted our workers, and they said they had left. We then rushed here. Now we are not being allowed to enter. BJP is being invited."

The Election Commission, however, dismissed the claims regarding the handling of polled materials at the centre, asserting that all procedures were duly followed and the strongrooms remain secure.

In its statement, the election authority said, "With reference to the video being circulated on social media handles, there are 7 AC strong rooms inside the Kgudiram Anushilan Kendra. They all have been duly closed and sealed in the presence of the candidates/election agents and general observer after the completion of polls yesterday. Last Strong room was closed in the morning around 5.15 am."

It further clarified that a separate strong room in the same premises holds postal ballots, sorted by constituency by polling staff. "⁠All strong rooms containing polled EVMs are safely secured and sealed. ⁠There is another strong room in the same premises for the postal ballot, wherein we have kept the AC-wise polled ballots as done by different polling personnel and ETBPS. We had notified all Observers, ROs and requested ROs to inform their candidates and agents about this. ⁠ROs informed the political parties by mail," it said.

According to EC's statement, the segregation seen in the video was just the routine sorting of these postal ballot papers by the polling station in the corridor outside the strong rooms, starting from 4pm. The standard procedure for manual organisation of postal ballots before counting happened outside the sealed EVM areas, the EC said.

"⁠The segregation of the ballot was taking place in the corridor of strong rooms containing polled premise from 4pm. The main strong rooms are safely secured and locked. The same was duly shown to Shashi Panja, Kunal Ghosh and Kali from BJP."