Falta Assembly Re-Election Begins Amid Tight Security After EVM Tampering Allegations

Fresh polling for the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district began on Thursday morning amid extensive security arrangements, after the Election Commission ordered a re-election over alleged irregularities and tampering during polling held last month.

According to PTI, polling commenced at 7 am across 285 booths in the constituency, where more than 2.36 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. The electorate includes around 1.15 lakh women and nine third-gender voters, officials said.

The re-election was ordered following what authorities described as “severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process” during the second phase of the assembly elections on April 29, PTI reported.

Six candidates are contesting the seat, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Jahangir Khan, who announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the contest. However, his name remained on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) as he could not officially withdraw his candidature within the stipulated period.

The other candidates in the fray include BJP nominee Debangshu Panda, CPI(M)’s Sambhu Nath Kurmi and Congress candidate Abdur Razzak Molla.

Reported PTI, security deployment for the repoll was significantly increased, with 35 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) stationed in the constituency. Officials said eight CAPF personnel, equivalent to a full section, were deployed at each polling booth.

During the April 29 polling, only four CAPF personnel, or half a section, had been deployed at each booth, officials added. Besides this, 30 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have been kept on standby to deal with any untoward incident.

Political tensions have persisted in the constituency after allegations surfaced from several booths that perfume substances and adhesive tapes had been applied to EVMs during the earlier round of polling.

Former Election Commission Special Observer Subrata Gupta visited the constituency and conducted a scrutiny following the complaints. According to PTI, evidence of alleged tampering was detected in at least 60 booths.

Apart from allegations of EVM manipulation, officials also found attempts to tamper with footage recorded by web cameras installed at several polling stations. Questions were subsequently raised over the role of booth-level officers (BLOs), presiding officers, polling personnel and election observers.

The TMC has retained the Falta assembly seat in every election since 2001, except in 2006, when the CPI(M) won the constituency.

(With inputs from PTI)