West Bengal Assembly Elections Phase 2 Voting: EVM Glitch, Violence During Early Hours Of Polling, Mamata Banerjee BJP Trade Attacks

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Violence and vandalism – from multiple locations, including Chapra, Shantipur, and Bhangar – were reported early Wednesday during voting for the second phase of the Bengal election. News agency PTI said a BJP candidate from the Entally seat, Priyana Tibrewal, had a verbal spat with polling officers and security personnel after her rep was ejected from a polling booth.

The agent was reportedly ordered out because the booth was very small. A representative of the Trinamool candidate for the seat also joined the squabble, after which both were told to leave. “See how irked they are. They have 10 people inside to get a button pressed…” she said.

In a similar incident in Chapra, another a BJP agent was allegedly assaulted by actors linked to the Trinamool at a polling booth 53 in Chapra in Nadia district, party leaders said. A senior cop said the agent – Mosharef Mir – was admitted to a local hospital. Mir claimed over a dozen Trinamool workers – one of whom had a gun – rushed at him and hit him with a rod.

The BJP’s Saikat Sarkar, standing from the Chapra seat, blamed the assault on Trinamool workers and said they “hit him on the head, causing injury”. A police case has been filed. The Trinamool has denied responsibility for the assault.

There was also a report of malfunctioning EVMs, or electronic voting machines, in Howrah.

A video shared by PTI showed a man (it is unclear which party he is affiliated with) being dragged away by paramilitary personnel and a policeman who have each grabbed an arm or leg. The video also shows two armed security personnel attacking another man with lathis.

EVMs are a longstanding flashpoint between the BJP and opposition parties. The latter routinely accuse the former of rigging these to ensure wins for their candidates. The Election Commission, however, has repeatedly stressed on the machines’ security measures.

Damage to property, meanwhile, was reported from Shantipur; furniture in a local BJP camp was smashed and triggered tension in the area, police said. And over in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, allegations surfaced that a polling agent from the Indian Secular Front – a fledgling outfit part of the Left Front+ – was prevented from entering a voting booth.

The clashes led to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – locked in a fierce two-way fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party – accusing central security forces of “acting at BJP’s behest”.

“Central forces are picking on our people… polling can’t be done like this,” she said, slamming the BJP for having brought in ‘observers’ from outside, a reference to earlier criticism about the party and the Election Commission colluding to engineer a win for the former, including by replacing high-ranking police and administrative officials within the state government.

“So many observers have come from outside (and) whatever BJP says, they are doing. Just look… our posters have been removed. Is this how polls take place? Votes will be cast by voters, not security forces. Some new people have been brought in… they are doing terrorism.”

Banerjee’s cousin and the party’s second-in-charge, Abhishek Banerjee accused the same observers of having “exceeded their mandate” after casting his vote in the Bhabanipur seat.

Bhabanipur is a stronghold of the Trinamool , having been won by Mamata Banerjee in 2011, 2016, and 2021. The 2026 election here is a high-profile clash between the Chief Minister and her aide-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.

READ | Mamata Banerjee Vs Suvendu Adhikari In Focus As Bengal Votes In Phase 2

This is the second and final phase of the Bengal election; the first was on April 23 and the results will be declared May 4. This election takes place against the backdrop of the controversial EC-mandated Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll.

The SIR was meant to cut dead, duplicate, and illegal voters, as well as those who no longer live in the state.

NDTV Special | Decoding The Record-Breaking Bengal Voting Figures

The revision has seen 90.8 lakh voters dropped from the rolls, a cut that the Trinamool claims was orchestrated by the poll body to disenfranchise voters sympathetic to the BJP’s rival. The BJP and Election Commission, however, have denied this.

Voting percentage for the first phase was a record 92.88 per cent.

With input from agencies


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