Tensions were reportedly heightened on Saturday when the CCTV screen of Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas district went dark for 17 minutes. Suspecting deliberate tampering, TMC workers and candidates staged protests. European Commission officials rushed to the scene and the display started working.
According to the complaint, the CCTV monitor of the vault housing the EVMs of Barasat, Habra, Ashoknagar and Deganga constituencies went completely blank between 8:05 and 8:22 am. The Trinamool has demanded complete footage of the period and taken strict action against those who turned off their monitors.TMC Ashoknagar candidate Narayan Goswami said: “The ARO showed me the video sent to the magistrate in which the camera was running. But if someone switches off the TV, the EC should take immediate action. We need to know what happened.”Abhijit Das, additional returning officer, said: “We received information that the feed could not be seen. By 8.20 am, the SDO had reached it. It was found that the external monitor was switched off. After it was switched on, the feed came back… It appears that the switch was switched off from outside. Investigation is on.”Meanwhile, the BJP pointed out two such incidents: one in Salt Lake City and another in Burdwan.Sharadwat Mukherjee, the BJP’s Bidhannagar candidate, said the vault in Bidhangarh was supposed to be opened on Saturday. He claimed it actually opened multiple times on Friday without official notice. He contacted election officials.CPM candidate Soumyajit Raha said a complaint has also been lodged with the EC.BJP’s Amit Malviya claimed on This is no ordinary facility; it houses EVMs from five key constituencies: Bardhaman Uttar, Bardhaman South, Galsi, Ausgram and Bhatar. “In Kolkata, Trinamool’s Shyampukur candidate Shashi Panja, who visited the vault at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Saturday, said guards initially stopped her and said people who were already inside had to exit first. She said she was allowed in only after police clarified the situation. She also noted there was no CCTV in the vault and claimed officials told her cameras would be installed “soon”.“When the postal ballot boxes arrived for the seven constituencies, there was no representation from any political party,” she said.
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