Mamata Banerjee claims sudden spike in voter turnout, raises doubts on EVMs

Chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee waves hand towards TMC supporters.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that there was a sudden increase in polling percentages during the two phases of the Lok Sabha elections.

According to the EC, a voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in the first and 66.71 per cent in the second phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Mamata Banerjee said she came to know about a jump of nearly 5.75 percent. She claimed the surge in voting happened in places where the electorate was not in the favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The EC gave a figure of polling percentage immediately after the elections. But yesterday, I came to know about the sudden jump in final voter turnout by nearly 5.75 per cent, which is worrying. The percentage has increased in places where voting was not in favour of the BJP,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee said the Election Commission must address the doubts. She claimed there were apprehensions of manipulation of results by the BJP. She claimed “several EVMs were missing for a long period of time”.

She also said that the sudden spike in poll percentage raises doubts over the credibility of EVMs.

“The details of EVM makers should be made public by the Election Commission as the BJP can stoop to any level to win elections,” she added.

Mamata Banerjee asked the masses to not vote for the Congress and the CPI(M) as they were the agents of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She said voting for the BJP would lead to their democratic rights being snatched away.

“The CPI (M) and Congress are contesting in minority-dominated seats so that they can help the BJP by cutting into TMC’s votes,” she added.

The BJP had won 18 seats in West Bengal, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party is aiming to win over 30 seats.

Last month, the Supreme Court on dismissed a bundle of petitions that demanded 100% cross-verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) or a return to the ballot paper system, underlining that “EVMs are simple, secure and user-friendly” and that the “integrity of the electoral process earned over years cannot be chaffed and overridden by baroque contemplations and speculations”.

With inputs from PTI

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