TMC Protests Kolkata EVM Strongrooms, EC Denies Claims

Trinamool Congress leaders staged protests outside EVM strongrooms in Kolkata on Thursday, alleging that ballot boxes had been opened without the presence of party representatives, prompting denials from the Election Commission and rebuttals from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja led a sit-in demonstration at sites including Netaji Indoor Stadium and Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, facilities storing electronic voting machines from multiple assembly constituencies following the second phase of polling on April 29. The leaders claimed that TMC workers had been asked to leave the area in the afternoon, only to learn via email that activity would resume at 4 p.m. They accused authorities of denying them entry while allowing others inside, and pointed to CCTV footage showing movement of materials, which they described as evidence of irregularities.

"We were there in a peaceful manner. They were here with the intention of stealing, they were working here secretly, opening the strong room without informing anyone before our people reached," Ghosh told reporters. Panja added, "The strongroom is extremely sensitive. If it is opened, all political parties...