West Bengal Cabinet member and a top Trinamool Congress leader have initiated a sit-in protest outside an EVM strongroom in Kolkata. They are concerned about possible tampering with the EVMs stored there. The protest was started by the West Bengal Minister of Women & Child Development, Sashi Panja, and the Trinamool Congress’s state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh, who are also candidates in the state Assembly polls.
The leaders expressed doubts that party workers guarding the EVM strongrooms have been intentionally removed by Central forces, raising suspicions of tampering. They called for more transparency from the Election Commission of India regarding the activities within the strong rooms. The sit-in demonstration took place at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in central Kolkata, a key venue for EVM storage in North Kolkata.
The protest began shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voiced concerns about EVM tampering in a video message. She urged party workers to protect the strong rooms and announced her intention to personally oversee the guarding until the counting on May 4. Trinamool Congress candidate Kunal Ghosh highlighted that party workers were present until 3.30 p.m. before being removed by Central forces.
According to Ghosh, an email notification was sent abruptly, stating the strong room would reopen at 4:00 p.m., leading to confusion among party workers. Panja emphasized the sensitivity of strong-room security in this election and questioned the lack of communication with political parties regarding the opening of the strong room.
