By Admin 
- The process of postal ballot took place in the presence of political parties.
Before the results of the assembly elections held in West Bengal were revealed, high-voltage drama was witnessed in the capital Kolkata on Thursday night (April 30, 2026). In fact, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of tampering with the ballot box. With this allegation of TMC, Trinamool Congress and BJP came face to face.
On one hand, while Trinamool Congress leaders and supporters came out on the streets to protest against the allegations against BJP, on the other hand, CM Mamata Banerjee went inside the strong room located at Sakhawat Memorial School in Kolkata.
TMC supporters sitting on dharna kept raising slogans of Jai Bangla. In view of the situation, a large number of security forces were deployed outside the strong room. Meanwhile, BJP supporters raised slogans of Jai Shri Ram. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has responded to the allegations made by TMC and the questions raised regarding the process related to postal ballot along with strong rooms.
Election Commission’s response to allegations of opening ballot boxes
The Election Commission said that a total of seven AC strong rooms have been made in the premises of Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, where all the Electric Voting Machines (EVMs) have been kept safe after voting. All the strong rooms were duly closed and sealed after the end of polling yesterday on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) in the presence of the candidates, their election agents and the General Observer.
The last strong room was sealed today Thursday (April 30) at around 5:15 am. The Commission also clarified that all the strong rooms and the EVM machines kept in them are completely safe in sealed condition.
Also read: ‘You will have to stay awake the whole night, data can be changed in the computer’, CM Mamata’s appeal before counting.
Ballot boxes are completely safe: Election Commission
On the questions raised regarding postal ballots, the Election Commission said, ‘A separate strong room has been created for postal ballots in the same premises, where the ballots received through various polling personnel and ETBPS are kept safe assembly constituency wise. Information about this entire process was already given to all the Observers and Returning Officers (RO) and they were also requested to inform the concerned candidates and their agents also. Apart from this, the returning officers have also informed the political parties about this through email.
The Election Commission said, ‘Segregation of postal ballots was started from 4 pm in the strong corridor as per the prescribed procedure. During this period all necessary protocols were followed. The main strong rooms are completely secure and locked. This entire process was also shown to Shashi Panja, Kunal Ghosh of TMC and Kali of BJP, so that transparency is maintained. The Election Commission reiterated that the segregation of postal ballots was started from 4 pm only after informing all the political parties as per the prescribed procedure.
catch miscreants overnight
The administration has become strict regarding the incidents of violence that came to light after the second phase of voting in West Bengal. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Aggarwal on Thursday directed officials to adopt a “zero tolerance policy” and take immediate action against the culprits. According to Election Commission sources, this decision was taken in a virtual meeting held with District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police to review the law and order situation.
Aggarwal clearly said that those who indulged in post-poll disturbances “should be arrested by tonight. Just hours after the end of the second phase of voting, reports of political clashes were reported from many parts of the state, after which the Commission has increased surveillance and strictness.”
The Chief Electoral Officer directed the officials to maintain the same vigilance after voting as was maintained during voting. Also, emphasis was laid on taking immediate and strict action in case of any unrest. He also reminded that the election process is not over yet, hence there should not be any laxity in the security arrangements during the counting of votes and thereafter.
Also read: Mamta’s statement came amid claims of TMC’s defeat in the exit polls, she said- BJP…