Repolling in parts of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district has brought fresh focus on serious complaints from the Falta constituency, where officials found that TMC goons used perfume on EVM buttons to identify who voted for the BJP. The Election Commission said such actions disturbed the voting process and raised concerns about voter secrecy.
#BreakingNews | Elections Commission' repolling notification accessed By News18; shocking irregularities in Falta booths flagged 'Black Tape, perfume applied on EVM'@_pallavighosh shares more details#WestBengalElections2026 #TMC #BJP | @ayushyasingh31 pic.twitter.com/8XDTeRH4sS
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 3, 2026
Repoll ordered across Falta
Taking a strong step, the Election Commission directed fresh voting in all 285 polling stations of Falta on May 21. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm, and counting is scheduled for May 24. The decision came after officials found that the voting process on April 29 was disrupted in many booths.
According to officials, some EVM buttons were covered with black tape or marked with ink, while in several cases perfume (Ittar) was applied. This meant anyone pressing a button could be identified later, raising fears of voter tracking. Video recordings from many booths were also incomplete, with gaps and broken footage. In some places, unauthorised people were seen entering voting compartments.
Complaints and EC action
The Election Commission received 77 complaints of EVM tampering during the second phase. Of these, 32 were from Falta, 29 from Diamond Harbour, 13 from Magrahat, and three from Budge Budge. Based on these findings, repolling was earlier ordered in 15 booths across Magrahat Paschim and Diamond Harbour.
Voting in these 15 stations was held peacefully on Saturday, 2nd May, with a turnout of around 86.9% till 5 pm, 86.1% in Magrahat Paschim and 87.6% in Diamond Harbour.
Political reactions and background
The BJP has blamed the ruling TMC for the tampering, demanding strict action and wider repolls. All four constituencies where complaints came from are considered TMC strongholds.
The controversy comes just days after exit polls suggested a strong performance by the BJP, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rejected those predictions, saying the TMC would win at least 226 of the 294 seats.
