TMC accuses BSF of influencing, threatening voters, complains to Election Commission

According to reports, the ruling party representatives alleged that BSF personnel were influencing voters in the villages near India-Bangladesh border and threatening them to cast their votes in favour of a "particular political party".

After meeting CEC Sunil Arora, who is currently in Kolkata on a three-day visit to hold multiple review meetings to assess preparedness for the upcoming election, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee told the media, "We have informed the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) that how BSF is threatening villagers near India-Bangladesh border to cast their votes in favour of a particular party."

"The Chief Election Commissioner told us that they will look into the matter," Chatterjee said.

Partha Chatterjee was accompanied by two other senior TMC leaders and state ministers, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, during the meeting with the CEC.

Reacting on the complaint made by the TMC, a senior official with BSF South Bengal told IBNS that such allegation against an apolitical and professional border guarding force like BSF was very unfortunate.

Mocking the TMC's complaint, BJP's Amit Malviya tweeted: "Pishi’ minister, who discovered mini-Pakistan in the heart of Kolkata, is now feeling insecure about BSF patrolling Indo-Bangladesh border! Come elections, TMC afterall would need more illegal migrants to vote for them, as residents of WB have made up their minds to vote for BJP!"

Meanwhile, representatives of other opposition parties, including BJP, CPI-M and Congress, also met the ECI full bench and they had demanded a free, fair and peaceful election in the state.