New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) Amid a controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s functioning, Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday demanded public scrutiny of CCTV footage from counting centres in West Bengal, citing alleged discrepancies in the counting process.
He also questioned the destruction of around 4,000 EVM units in a fire after Assembly polls in the state.
Speaking at a press conference here, Banerjee challenged the Election Commission to release CCTV footage from nearly 100 constituencies where the TMC had raised questions about the counting process.
“Take Rajarhat-Gopalpur, Bhawanipur, Satgachia or any other constituency from that list, and release the CCTV footage from noon until 8 pm, 8.30 pm or 9 pm. You do not even have to show it to us. Invite journalists, place the footage in front of them in your office, and allow them to see what happened inside those counting centres,” he said.
Specifically referring to Satgachia, he said the TMC had been leading by around 11,000 to 12,000 votes at one stage, but its counting agents were forced out and assaulted.
“A seat where the Trinamool Congress had been leading by around 12,000 votes ultimately went to the BJP by approximately 400 votes. That is precisely why we demand transparency,” he said.
Banerjee demanded the release of even six hours of CCTV footage — from 3 pm to 9 pm — from the constituency for scrutiny.
The TMC leader also questioned the destruction of election equipment in a fire at a government building in Alipore in June. He said the incident took place around a month after the election results and involved approximately 4,000 ballot units, control units and VVPAT machines.
Around 4,000 EVMs were reportedly destroyed in the June fire, following which an FIR was registered and a probe launched by a Special Investigation Team. At the time, officials said the cause of the fire had not been established and they were examining, among other possibilities, an electrical fault.
Banerjee questioned how the fire could have bypassed intermediate floors and reached the area where the election equipment was stored.
“Three months had passed since that incident. Yet, according to information available to us, nobody has been held accountable,” he said.
“Even if the incident resulted from negligence, responsibility must still be fixed because petitions related to several constituencies required that ballot units, control units, VVPAT machines and other election records be safely preserved for possible examination by the courts,” he said.
Banerjee also alleged discrepancies in Form 17C. He said that in some instances, the serial numbers of ballot units and control units recorded in the forms were different from those of the machines subsequently brought to the counting tables.
“If the machine recorded in Form 17C carries one serial number and the unit brought for counting carries another, that discrepancy requires an immediate technical explanation and investigation,” Banerjee said.
The TMC leader claimed that in around 150 Assembly constituencies, the number of deletions, logical-discrepancy or under-adjudication cases was greater than the eventual winning margin.
“According to our assessment, these 150 seats were effectively handed to the BJP through this process,” he alleged, challenging the Election Commission to put the complete records in the public domain and allow independent examination.
His remarks came amid a continuing controversy over the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Recent reports have highlighted objections raised by two Election Commissioners to decisions concerning the electoral roll revision, while the poll panel has subsequently announced measures to deal with voters placed in the “logical discrepancy” and “unmapped” categories.
Banerjee said the concerns were no longer being raised by political parties alone but also from within the Election Commission.
“What opposition parties had been raising for the last six months, eight months, ten months, or even a year, is now being raised by the two Election Commissioners,” he said.
Banerjee alleged that changes related to SIR, particularly those concerning Form 6, had been made without the knowledge of the two Election Commissioners and sought examination of who authorised such decisions.
“I challenge the authorities to preserve and examine the complete digital trail,” Banerjee said, calling for scrutiny of system logs, login records and authorisations related to deletions.
Banerjee also questioned the sequence of post-election appointments, including the appointment of Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal as the new Chief Secretary of West Bengal in May 2026, two days after the BJP government took oath. He said the electoral process had not yet concluded and a repoll in Falta was pending.
Banerjee said the Election Commission should respond to questions concerning its functioning rather than the BJP leaders speaking on its behalf.
“Constitutional authorities must answer legitimate questions themselves and place facts before the public rather than allowing political parties to speak on their behalf,” Banerjee said. PTI AO RUK
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