TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee Urges Vigilance Ahead of West Bengal Election Counting

Mamata Banerjee Calls for Alertness Among TMC Workers

As the counting of votes for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections approaches, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has urged her party members to remain vigilant and observant. She reported receiving multiple accounts of intentional power outages from various locations, including Shrirampur in Hooghly, Krishnanagar in Nadia, Ausgram in Bardhaman, and the Khudiram Anushilan Center in Kolkata. Banerjee expressed concern over incidents where electricity was being cut off in phases, CCTV cameras were being disabled, and vehicles were frequently entering and exiting the strong rooms. She appealed to her party workers to stay alert throughout the night, just as she would, to safeguard the votes stored in the strong rooms. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately, and requests for CCTV footage should be made, as she believes these actions are orchestrated by the BJP.

Vote Counting and Security Measures

In West Bengal, the counting will take place across 77 centers for a total of 293 seats. This election has seen unprecedented security arrangements, and tensions have been high in the lead-up to the results, with both the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP expressing concerns about potential vote tampering.

A historic voter turnout of 92.47% was recorded in the state across two phases. Notably, the election for the Falta seat in South 24 Parganas was canceled due to 'serious electoral irregularities,' with a re-election scheduled for May 21.

Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, the TMC aims to secure a fourth consecutive term while facing stiff competition from the BJP. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and Congress are attempting to regain their footing after significant losses in the 2021 elections. Smaller parties like Humayun Kabir's AJUP and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM are also trying their luck in key areas.

Ensuring Fairness in the Election Process

To ensure the integrity of the counting process, a multi-tiered security force has been deployed. Two hundred companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been specifically assigned to the counting centers. The responsibility for security is shared among the state police, state armed police, and CAPF. CCTV cameras have been installed outside the counting rooms to monitor all activities.