WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS: Voting stopped at a few booths in West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour after the BJP accused the Trinamool of tampering with voting machines during Phase 2 of the elections. Diamond Harbour, part of South 24 Parganas district, is known as the turf of Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, who happens to be Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.
BJP Alleges EVM Tampering in Diamond Harbour
According to the BJP, someone taped over their button on the electronic voting machines in several booths in Falta, which falls under the Diamond Harbour segment.
The Trinamool shot back and called the whole thing a distraction. They say the BJP is just making noise because things aren’t going their way in Bengal. They also criticised the Election Commission and police observer Ajay Pal Sharma, nicknamed “Singham” whom they’ve accused before of threatening their candidate Jehangir Khan.
“In several booths, the BJP’s button has been taped over, stopping voters from picking us. This is the so-called ‘Diamond Harbour Model,’ the same trick that helped Mamata Banerjee’s nephew win his seat,” a BJP leader wrote online.
Amit Malviya from the BJP even shared videos from the Harindanga High School polling booth in Falta, where you can see tape covering the third button, the one with the BJP’s Lotus symbol. He claimed other booths were tampered with in the same way.
This is what Mamata Banerjee was defending when she spoke up for Jehangir Khan, a criminal contesting on a TMC ticket from Falta in Diamond Harbour.
In several polling booths, the option to vote for the BJP has been blocked using a tape, effectively preventing voters from… pic.twitter.com/sKw3mcdA86
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 29, 2026
West Bengal Elections 2026: EVM Controversy Erupts
In retaliation, Trinamool spokesperson Riju Dutta said that Malviya must take up the matter with his bosses and the Election Commission instead of taking to Twitter.
“It is all the Election Commission’s ball game. What are they doing? Amit Malviya should not be tweeting but should complain to his masters to replace (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar. (Police observer) Ajay Pal Sharma should also be removed as they have not been able to do what BJP wanted. What will we do if there is EVM tampering? This is not our job. We are not doing it. What is the EC doing?” Dutta told NDTV.
The Trinamool is raising the alarm to the proper authorities wherever it feels the need to and the BJP must do the same, Dutta said. “They are screaming blue murder because they are getting a thrashing after they have used all their resources at Bengal and Mamata Banerjee,” he said. Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had accused the central forces of “acting at the BJP’s behest” and also lashed out at the BJP for bringing in observers from outside the state to “terrorise” the voters.
