Mamata Banerjee alleges Bhabanipur result ‘stolen’, accuses EC, CRPF of bias; says BJP looted 100+ seats in Bengal. Photo: ANI.
After the results on Monday showed that Trinamool Congress is losing against BJP, MP and senior Supreme Court advocate Kalyan Banerjee shared a conversation he had with Mamata Banerjee on a phone call. The outgoing Chief Minister in the phone calls the Bhabanipur result as ‘stolen verdict’, accusing Election Commission of ‘unethical dirty game’. Mamata claimed that she was leading until the 16th round of counting, adding that the counting process was compromised by ‘goons’ who intimidated the TMC polling agents and officials after entering the booths. The CM alleged that in the final rounds, their party was not represented in the counting room and claimed that EVMs were taken out of the strongrooms without proper sealing. Mamata also accused the central security forces CRPF, the Election Commission and local election officials of working for BJP. She described the situation as a ‘torture’, saying that after removing voters through SIR, their votes were ‘forcibly stolen.’
“Those remaining rounds were in the Bhabanipur constituency which was totally our area. At that moment, few goons entered the counting centre, with EC officials, they beat me up and threw my agents away with the help of CRPF,” Mamata Banerjee can be heard saying in the phone call.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that the BJP “looted” more than 100 seats and termed the Election Commission “the BJP’s commission,” calling the victory “immoral” and “illegal.”
She said she had complained to the Chief Officer and Manoj Agrawal, but no action was taken. She termed the conduct of the Election Commission, along with the deployment of Central Forces and the role of the Prime Minister and Home Minister, as illegal.
Talking to the reporters, CM Banerjee said, “More than 100 seats BJP looted. The Election Commission is the BJP’s commission. I complained to the CO and also Manoj Agrawal, but they are not doing anything. Do you think this is a victory? It is an immoral victory, not a moral victory. Whatever the Election Commission has done, along with the Central Forces and the PM & Home Minister, is totally illegal. It is loot, loot, loot. We will bounce back.”
The Trinamool Congress chief further alleged irregularities at the counting centre, stating that violence began after 3 pm and that she was physically attacked. She claimed that CCTV cameras were switched off and that party agents were not permitted inside the centre despite assurances from the District Officer, who she said was later unavailable.
“From 3 pm onwards, they have been beating us. I was hit. CCTV was switched off. None of our agents was allowed inside (the counting centre). The DO assured me our agents would be allowed, but after that, he was not available anywhere. I complained everywhere.” CM Banerjee added.
(With inputs from ANI)
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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