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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called upon party workers to remain vigilant through the night, alleging incidents of power outages and suspicious activity near strong rooms ahead of the vote counting today.
In a post on X, TMC supremo claimed she had received reports from multiple districts, including Hooghly, Nadia, Burdwan and parts of Kolkata, regarding phased load-shedding and disruptions in CCTV surveillance. "Be vigilant. Keep watch. Stay awake at night. File complaints. I'm receiving reports from various places that load-shedding is being deliberately imposed. From Hooghly's Serampore, Nadia's Krishnanagar, to Burdwan's Ausgram, and Kolkata's Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra, such incidents have come to light where load-shedding is being done in phases, CCTV is being turned off, and vehicles are moving in and out of strong rooms," she said She urged her party workers to guard strong rooms and immediately report any suspicious activity. "I am calling upon my party workers: just as I am staying up all night to keep an eye on everything, you too stay up all night and guard the people's votes in the strong rooms. If anyone creates any suspicious situation anywhere, surround them, file complaints immediately, and demand CCTV footage," she added. Banerjee also alleged that all of these incidents were being carried out "at the behest of the BJP". The remarks come hours before the counting of votes begins across the state at 8:00 am with postal ballots, followed by EVM counting at 8:30 am, with results to be updated in real time on ECINET and the official election portal. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Sunday also issued a stern warning against disruption, promising a transparent and peaceful counting day backed by a massive security apparatus. In a series of briefings ahead of the count, Agarwal emphasised that the Election Commission has left nothing to chance, deploying a rigorous three-tier security system to guard counting centres across the state. To ensure the integrity of the process, a multi-layered force has been mobilised. 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are dedicated exclusively to counting centres. Security is divided between the State Police, State Armed Police, and CAPF. CCTV cameras have been installed outside counting halls to monitor all movement. (ANI)
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