Repolling underway at 15 booths in West Bengal after EVM-related complaints

As per the ECI website, voting is taking place in  11 polling stations in the Magarhat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour.

Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

During the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections on April 29, the poll panel received 77 complaints of EVM tampering, reported India Today.

The complaints alleged that electronic voting machines (EVMs) machines were marked with black tapes, adhesive substances, ink, and even perfume.

According to media reports, the poll panel had received  29 complaints of repolling from Diamond Harbour and 13 from Magrahat.

The two-phase Assembly polls in the state ended on April 29.

The state recorded the highest-ever voter turnout at 92 per cent this year.

Previously, the highest-ever voter turnout in the state was recorded in 2011, when about 84 per cent voters had exercised their franchise.

The election that year marked a political change with the current CM Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress winning the election to remove the Left government from power.

According to most exit poll surveys, four out of six pollsters have indicated a narrow edge for the BJP, while two have projected a clear victory for the TMC.

The majority mark in the 294-member Assembly stands at 148 seats.

In the previous Assembly elections held in 2021, exit polls had predicted a closely contested race between the TMC and the BJP.

However, the final results diverged significantly from those projections.

The TMC secured a landslide victory with 215 seats, while the BJP won 77 seats, emerging as the main opposition party in the state Assembly for the first time.