Kolkata, May 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered re-elections at all polling stations in the Falta assembly constituency of South 24 Parganas district. This decision comes after serious violations of electoral rules were observed during the second phase of voting on April 29.
As a result, the counting of votes for the 293 assembly seats in West Bengal will take place on May 4, excluding Falta. The commission stated that the entire voting conducted on April 29 for this seat will be considered null and void, with re-voting scheduled for May 21.
In an official statement, the ECI said, “In light of serious violations of electoral rules and damage to the democratic process observed at several polling booths on April 29 in West Bengal’s 144-Falta assembly seat, the commission directs that re-voting be conducted at all 285 polling booths (including auxiliary booths). This re-voting will take place on May 21 from 7 AM to 6 PM.”
Following the re-voting, the counting of votes for this seat will occur on May 24.
On Friday, the commission announced re-voting for 15 booths across two assembly seats in South 24 Parganas district – Diamond Harbour and Magrahat (West) – which took place on Saturday.
Falta had been in the spotlight even before the second phase of voting, with a confrontation reported between Ajay Pal Sharma, a special police observer appointed by the Election Commission, and Jahangir Khan, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Falta.
On the day of voting, allegations of tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) surfaced, leading to petitions demanding re-voting. Subsequently, the commission initiated an inquiry to assess the severity of the irregularities.
Sources indicate that the highest number of complaints demanding re-voting came from South 24 Parganas district, with Falta being one of the key seats under scrutiny.
Under the directives of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, special observer Subrata Gupta visited Falta, Magrahat, Diamond Harbour, and other affected areas on Thursday to assess the situation.