BJP tags on voting machines, Election Commission responds to Trinamool's allegation

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has responded to the Trinamool Congress' allegation that EVMs labelled with BJP tags were utilised in the Bankura district in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress had alleged that BJP tags were found on five voting machines in Raghunathpur in Bankura.

In response to the accusation, the Election Commission stated that the tags only had the signatures of BJP representatives as only they were present when the voting machines were commissioned. It further mentioned that the signatures of agents of various parties were obtained at other polling stations in the region. The Election Commission added that the commissioning was carried out under CCTV surveillance and that all regulations were adhered to.

'During commissioning, common address tags were signed by the candidates and their agents present. Since only the BJP candidate’s representative was present at that time, his signature was taken for commissioning the EVM and VVPAT. However, the signatures of all agents present at polling stations 56, 58, 60, 61, and 62 were obtained during the poll. All ECI norms were followed, the commissioning was entirely under CCTV coverage, and it was duly videographed,' the Election Commission tweeted.