Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticized the Opposition for targeting government agencies, the Election Commission, media, and judiciary, calling it an assault on Indian democracy. Rijiju expressed confidence that the people of India would respond appropriately to these attacks.
The Election Commission of India declared a fresh election in all polling stations of the Falta Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district due to severe electoral offenses during the second phase of polling on April 29. Consequently, the counting of votes in West Bengal will occur in 293 Assembly constituencies on May 4, excluding Falta.
The Election Commission stated that all 285 polling stations, including auxiliary ones, in the Falta Assembly Constituency would undergo fresh polling on May 21 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Following this, the vote counting in the constituency will happen on May 24.
Re-polling took place in 15 booths across two Assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas district after allegations of EVM tampering surfaced. The Election Commission had received numerous complaints requesting re-polling, with Falta being a prominent constituency of concern.
Special Observer Subrata Gupta recommended re-polling in approximately 30 booths in Falta after detecting serious irregularities during scrutiny. Allegations included instances where surveillance cameras were turned off, network issues hampered information flow to the control room, and EVMs were found covered with tape in multiple booths, raising doubts about the polling process integrity.
