West Bengal Elections 2026: TMC Accuses EC of Manipulating EVMs as Tension Grips Kolkata

Tension gripped Kolkata on Thursday night after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked her party leaders to keep a close watch on EVM strong rooms. Soon after, TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja, along with party workers, accused officials of tampering with EVMs and staged a protest outside Khudiram Anushilan Kendra near Netaji Indoor Stadium. BJP candidates also reached the venue, adding to the political drama. At the same time, Banerjee visited Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ High School, where EVMs from her Bhabanipur constituency were being kept. She arrived around 8.15 pm and stayed there until midnight. Supporters of both the TMC and BJP gathered outside the school, while police maintained heavy security in the area. The West Bengal CM lashed out at the Election Commission on Thursday night — levelling accusations of manipulation. The Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP and EC of colluding to “open ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders”. Controversy had erupted after the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of “active collusion” with the Election Commission. The party claimed that they were “opening ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders” — dubing it “the murder of democracy in broad daylight”. Election Commission officials have vehemently rejected the allegations and maintains that the strongrooms are safely secured. “BJP has been caught on CCTV attempting to forcefully breach sealed ballot boxes at the Netaji Indoor Stadium strongroom, without a single party stakeholder present. This is an attempt to loot democracy, actively facilitated by the Election Commission’s criminal negligence,” the Trinamool Congress accused via X. ❗️ALARMING❗️ This is the murder of democracy in broad daylight. CCTV footage has exposed how @BJP4India , in active collusion with the @ECISVEEP , is opening ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders. This is gross electoral fraud being committed openly… pic.twitter.com/aSe36kGKPI The TMC has accused the BJP of trying “every dirty trick” to defeat it in assembly polls and “stooping to tampering with EVMs” in desperation. “There is a strong room here for EVMs… We found that in many places, manipulation is taking place… When I saw the CCTV on TV, I thought I should also go and see it. Initially, the Central Forces wouldn’t let me enter… But according to our election rules, the candidate and election agent of any party are allowed up to the sealed room,” ANI quoted her as saying. The Chief Minister levelled accusations of “one-sidedness” as she noted that a TMC agent had been arrested. The TMC supremo told reporters that she had reached the counting centre for her Bhabanipur assembly segment on Thursday night after hearing buzz about ‘malpractice’ and tampering with the voting machines. Banerjee vowed to “fight life and death together” if anyone tried to steal votes. “I will fight till my last breath if anyone tries to loot EVM machines votes. I am telling this to election agents of all parties, you must safeguard your votes but don’t quarrel, this is not the place to quarrel. The State Police is not working under us, they are under the Election Commission from the day elections were announced. Some super power is working and pressurising them,” PTI quoted the CM as adding. VIDEO | Outside the strong room at Shekhawat Memorial School in South Kolkata, WB CM Mamata Banerjee says, "I have come here because there is a strong room here for EVMs, we found manipulations at many places, so when I saw it on TV, I thought I should visit, I came, but the… pic.twitter.com/EbDALbY12h The Election Commission of India has rejected the allegations levelled by the Trinamool Congress and insisted that the main strong rooms remained secured and locked. It added that segregation of the ballot was taking place in the corridor of strong rooms. Officials also said that the poll panel had notified all observers, ROs and requested ROs to inform their candidates and agents about this. “No CCTV was turned off. CCTV footage of all 8 strong rooms there, 7 of EVMs and 1 of the postal ballot, is being telecast. Political parties’ people can sit beyond the three-layer security and see this. They saw some movement around 4 pm when our staff was opening the postal ballot room as per the rules. As per the rule, all political parties were informed, and all candidates were informed by the Returning Officer,” West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal told ANI. They should have come here…After 4 pm, 3 candidates had come, and they saw everything that the EVMs’ strong rooms were sealed while the postal ballot’s strong room was open. The 3 then left…There will be no law and order situation. These things happen. The law and order situation is fine. Counting will be 100% neat and clean just like the elections were,” he added,” he added. TMC MP Mahua Moitra also responded to calls for the Election Commission to upload voter turnout data for West Bengal. Multiple social media posts have called for the poll body to upload Form 17C data for each polling booth and declare how many tokens were distributed at 6pm for voters standing in queue. “Don’t worry sir we have worked all night and collected all our forms and digitised them already and entered into excel sheets for 11 am scrutiny!” Moitra wrote in response to an X post. Visuals shared online also showed BJP workers stopping the movement of a TMC vehicle in Bhabanipur assembly constituency on Thursday night. A group of people can be seen standing in front of the vehicle and shouting in Hindi as the police attempted to disperse the crowd. “Gadi nahi jayegi. Kisi bhi haal mein gadi nahi jayegi (The car won’t go, no matter what happens). There is something in the vehicle. Mamata Banerjee has brought something in her vehicle. The vehicle will not be allowed to move,” news agency ANI quoted one of them as claiming. The TMC vehicle had eventually left the area amid protests and heavy police presence in Bhabanipur assembly constituency. #WATCH | West Bengal Elections 2026 | Kolkata: BJP workers block the movement of a TMC vehicle in Bhabanipur assembly constituency. One of them says, "There is something in the vehicle. Mamata Banerjee has brought something in her vehicle. The vehicle will not be allowed to… pic.twitter.com/iuawmsAqY7 “No matter how much effort she makes, she (Mamata Banerjee) has been unable to engage in any activities outside the rules. As long as she was present in the strong room premises, my election agent, Advocate Suryanil Das, was personally there keeping her under strict surveillance so that she could not resort to any dishonest means,” claimed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. The former TMC leader, who contested the polls against Banerjee from Bhabanipur assembly constituency, also shared a CCTV screenshot to underscore his remarks. The developments came even as the BJP prepared to hold a crucial high-level meeting in Kolkata ahead of the counting process. According to an ANI report, the party will review and strengthen preparations for May 4 during the meeting. The focus will reportedly be on strategy, coordination, and ground-level readiness to ensure smooth monitoring across counting centres. “The leadership will assess booth-level management, counting-day protocols, and coordination mechanisms to ensure a streamlined process. The meeting is expected to play a significant role in finalising the party’s approach as counting day approaches…All ‘pravasis’ (outstation leaders) deployed during the election campaign, including Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies, have been directed to attend the meeting. These leaders were assigned key responsibilities across constituencies and will provide detailed feedback and updates from their respective regions,” sources told ANI.