Political Turmoil in Bengal: Swords Drawn Between BJP and Trinamool Ahead of Vote Counting! Find Out Who Said What Regarding This Dispute.

Tensions flared between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP in Kolkata, West Bengal, on Thursday night following the opening of an EVM strongroom. This incident triggered a major uproar, with the Trinamool Congress leveling allegations of EVM tampering. However, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal categorically dismissed the allegations regarding the tampering of EVMs and postal ballots within the strongroom. Nevertheless, this entire episode has raised the political temperature in Bengal, and various leaders are now weighing in with their reactions.

Suvendu Adhikari Says: ‘Mamata Banerjee is Staging a Drama Out of Fear of Defeat’

Commenting on the Kolkata strongroom controversy, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He asserted that this behavior stems from a long-standing habit of hers: whenever she senses that the electoral tide is turning against her, she begins raising apprehensions about EVM manipulation. Speaking to the media on Friday, Suvendu Adhikari—the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly—stated, “Raising apprehensions about EVM manipulation has become an ingrained habit for her [Mamata Banerjee] over the last 15 years. It appears impossible for her to break this old habit. This time around, she has a premonition of her impending defeat. Therefore, this ‘drama’ she is staging regarding alleged tampering in the EVM strongroom is merely a reflection of her deep-seated fear of losing.”

‘Mamata Banerjee Has Conceded Defeat; She is Now Merely Scrambling for Excuses’

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh also weighed in on the controversy. He remarked, “For the past 3–4 months, they have been searching for excuses for their defeat in various ways. First, they politicized the issue of the SIR [Special Investigation Report]; subsequently, they targeted the Election Commission, then the Central Forces, and now they are playing politics over the strongroom issue. It appears that the losing side has run out of other excuses.” He further argued that if a political party—after having ruled for 15 years—resorts to politicizing issues such as the SIR and strongrooms, it serves as a clear indication that the party has already conceded defeat. They are merely laying the groundwork to attribute their inevitable defeat to a fabricated excuse. What is the Controversy?

The Trinamool Congress alleges that on Thursday night, the EVM strongroom at Kolkata’s Khudiram Anushilan Kendra was opened, and suspicious individuals entered the premises. Accompanied by these allegations, members of the Trinamool Congress staged a sit-in protest outside the EVM strongroom. The TMC also shared a video of the incident on social media. The TMC claimed that the video shows election officials, in collusion with BJP members, attempting to open ballot boxes. However, the Election Commission denied these allegations, stating that the strongroom was merely being used for the sorting of postal ballots.

Meanwhile, the gathering of TMC and BJP workers at the site began to swell. In view of the unfolding situation, a large contingent of security forces was deployed to the area. Amidst the commotion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also arrived at the EVM strongroom—located at Kolkata’s Sakhawat Memorial School—at around 8:00 PM and remained there for several hours. While speaking to the media during this time, she declared, “If there is any attempt to loot the EVMs or manipulate the vote count, we will stake our very lives to stop it.”