Berhampore/Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday flagged her serious concerns over the sudden rise in the total polling in the first two phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha Election and sought the Election Commission (EC) to explain the increase in detail.
The Trinamul Congress supremo alleged that the jump in voter turnout happened in those seats where BJP got less votes. She also claimed that 19 lakh EVMs have gone “missing” for a long time. Her concerns came a day after the ECI released the final voter turnout of the first two phases.
Addressing a poll campaign rally at Farakka in Murshidabad, Ms. Banerjee said, “Suddenly I got to hear that 5.75% votes have been increased in those areas where votes were cast less in favour of BJP. The EC also issued a notice in this regard.”
She added, “To allay the suspicion of the citizens, we want to know who built the EVMs and their chips, how the figure rose, what the figures were in the first and second phases of the polls, how many voters were there, and how many machines were used.”
The CM further pointed out, “A sudden jump is not normal…nearly 19 lakh machines have been missing for several days. We have looked for this many times. Duplicate EVMs are being brought from somewhere and planted. This is happening where BJP is getting less votes.”
Later at another rally in Berhampore of the district, she reached out to other opposition parties on the same issue. “I request all the opposition parties to look into it. Maintain a record of EVMs in your states. Wherever BJP is getting less votes, they are entering the counting centres by breaking the locks at night and replacing the EVMs.”
