‘Cars flying BJP flags allowed to enter Bhovanipore counting center’: TMC goes on the offensive ahead of results

New Delhi: Tensions rise at vote counting center under West Bengal Chief Minister Bhowanipur Mamata BanerjeeA day before the counting of votes, her TMC claimed that two vehicles flying the BJP flag were allowed to enter a secure place where EVMs were kept.Banerjee’s main opponent in Bhowanipore is Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and leader of the opposition in West Bengal, and a former aide to her.TMC staff claimed that armed police personnel strictly controlled entry to the counting center and allowed entry of suspicious vehicles even though no suspicious vehicles were sighted in the past few days. They also claimed that after they objected, security forces pushed them back nearly 100 meters from the site.The party also claimed that although officials initially said the vehicle would be removed, it remained parked for a period of time before leaving. However, an Election Commission official refuted this claim, saying that the vehicle was just traveling along Harish Mukherjee Road and was allowed to proceed after a check by security personnel and the police did not find anything unusual.The incident follows a series of similar allegations made by the TMC in recent days. Banerjee staged a four-hour sit-in on Thursday outside the counting center of Sahawat Memorial Girls School to protest against “unauthorized entry” into the vault. Trinamool leaders and candidates Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh also staged a demonstration outside another counting facility, accusing authorities of irregularities in the absence of TMC agents.Similar protests took place at the counting centers at Paschim Bardhaman’s Asansol College and Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas on Saturday, with ruling party workers claiming CCTV cameras were briefly switched off. The electoral commission rejected all such accusations, insisting the surveillance system remained fully operational.Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sahar Ghosh refuted the claims, accusing the TMC of making baseless accusations out of fear of failure and questioning whether the party expected to lose the elections.The elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases, with voting in 152 constituencies on April 23 and voting in the remaining 142 constituencies on April 29. Voter turnout for both phases hit record highs, exceeding 90%.