West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari Alleges Election Protocol Breach Ahead of May 4 Vote Counting

Kolkata: West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday alleged that several officers deployed for counting day duties are reportedly disclosing their duty details, locations and designations to their departmental organisations and associations, terming it a serious breach of election protocol.

In a post on X, ahead of vote counting on May 4, Adhikari wrote, "It has come to my notice that several Officers assigned for Counting Day duties are reportedly disclosing their specific duty details, locations, and designations to their respective departmental organisations and associations."

He further claimed that spreadsheets and lists were being circulated in which officers were "voluntarily or under pressure" filling out their "Election Duty Info," including specific roles in the counting process.

"This is a grave violation of election protocols," Adhikari said, warning that such practices could have serious implications.

He listed multiple concerns arising from the alleged disclosure, stating that it may lead to the risk of undue influence. "When an Officer's specific deployment is known to a politically tilted organisation or union, it opens the doors for unnecessary political influence and intimidation," he said.

Adhikari also flagged concerns over neutrality in the counting process. "The sanctity of the counting process relies on the confidentiality of personnel deployment. Any breach of this secrecy directly affects the impartiality of the results," he added in his X post.

He further alleged the possibility of pressure tactics being used through such data collection. "Such 'data collection' by associations is often a veiled attempt to put pressure on Officers to favour the ruling dispensation during the crucial counting hours," he said.

The LoP urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal to take immediate cognisance of the matter and issue strict directions prohibiting any officer from disclosing their assigned counting duty to any organisation or association. He also called for a probe into organisations allegedly collecting such sensitive deployment data.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Saumitra Khan also raised similar concerns in a post on X, alleging irregularities involving officials. In his post, Khan wrote, "@ECISVEEP must take immediate action against the alleged fraud by ROs & DMs. Our democracy is at stake. IPAC/TMC-linked DMs & ROs are allegedly soliciting counting officers' IDs via WhatsApp to create fake credentials."

Security has been heightened outside strongrooms in Kolkata ahead of the May 4th vote counting.