Bengal. Bengal: The BJP has organised special sessions for counting agents of each of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal to teach them how to monitor the counting process and prevent unauthorised interference till the final results are out.
A senior BJP leader said, “We learnt lessons from the 2021 Assembly Elections, when many of our counting agents had no experience. This time, we tried to appoint only experienced people as counting agents. During the special training, they were told about various problems that may arise inside the counting hall and the persons entitled to be present there.”
A source said that 22 points were discussed in detail in the training session. Counting agents were advised to follow all those points during counting. In the training session, counting agents were asked to match the votes cast on the EVM with Form 17C. Form 17C contains comprehensive information including the total number of voters, votes cast and EVM number. After the completion of polling, each polling agent was provided a copy of the form. “They (counting agents) have been asked to note down all data, including the number of votes polled by each candidate and NOTA, and tally whether the sum of those numbers equals the total votes polled. A dozen such points were taught to counting agents in training sessions,” a BJP leader said. “In 2021, we received complaints that several unauthorised persons barged into the counting venue and started threatening our counting agents when trends indicated that the Trinamool Congress was winning. This time, we have alerted our counting agents as the TMC may also attempt to adopt the same tactic,” a BJP leader said. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the Directorate of Security plans to deploy a police officer and two constables in plainclothes inside the counting venue of each of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. He asked the Election Commission to prevent “unauthorised entries”, which could be a TMC ploy to disrupt the counting process. “The concerned DM, who is also the RO (Returning Officer), is being pressured to issue identity cards for these people so that they can access the counting centres. If the Directorate of Security goes ahead with this plan as directed by Mamata Banerjee, I will be forced to reveal their personal details in the public domain,” the officer wrote on his ‘X’ social media handle.
@ECISVEEP and @CEOWestBengal must ensure that no unauthorised person is allowed to enter the counting centres.” In Cooch Behar, the BJP has introduced a special dress code – white T-shirt with saffron collar – for its counting agents. A source said the “uniform” was the idea of BJP’s Cooch Behar Lok Sabha candidate Nisith Pramanik. “We believe the dress code will boost the morale of the counting agents inside the counting hall. It will be easy for one agent to recognise another agent in the counting hall,” said a BJP leader in Cooch Behar. BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya claimed that the party will win in Bengal this time, so there is no question of counting agents leaving the polling booth. Bhattacharya said, “We have given proper training to the counting agents. This time there is no question of them leaving the polling booth till the counting is completed, because our workers know that the party will win most of the seats.” On Monday, senior BJP leader Shishir Bajoria wrote a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal asking him to stop involving contractual or non-permanent government employees in the counting of votes.
Calcutta News: BJP to hold training today to avoid ‘misconceptions’ in results
