Violence erupts outside Kolkata CEO office after TMC alleges bulk submissions of Form 6 by BJP ::::: CEO Agarwal says “This is not my work. Should I conduct elections or keep doing this?”

Mamata Banerjee has written to CEC alleging that BJP is trying to smuggle outsiders into the State voter list, in a bid at “voter hijacking”; 

“We are now witnessing what appears to be another coordinated attempt by the BJP, in conjunction with the ECI, to interfere with the democratic rights of the people. 

Credible reports indicate that large numbers of Form 6 applications are being submitted by BJP agents at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and across several districts,” Mamata Banerjee said in a letter to the poll panel.

CEO says it is not his job to check Form 6 submissions 

Did CM threatened Central forces ??

Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters clash outside the Election Commission office in Kolkata 

TMC supremo and chief Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar -- “The BJP agents have been caught red-handed flooding the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal with thousands of fraudulent Form 6 applications to smuggle non-residents and outsiders into Bengal’s electoral rolls. This is an attempt at voter hijacking".

Mamata called for the Election Commission to punish such actions which are “illegal, unconstitutional, and fundamentally undemocratic in nature.”

In response to the allegations, CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said: “This is not my work. I cannot keep checking who is bringing what into my office. Should I conduct elections in the whole State or keep doing this?”

An organisation of booth level officers (BLOs) supported by the State’s ruling Trinamool Congress alleged that it had caught a BJP worker carrying over 400 Form 6 applications into the CEO, WB office in Kolkata. 

The BLOs and TMC workers staged a protest outside the CEO’s office, flagging this issue. 

The BJP workers also reached the spot and engaged with the TMC workers, leading to a heated exchange.  This is a crucial development. 

"Workers betrayal from one party to another takes place during elections. Sometime they are decisive. The new confidence found in the BJP Karyakartas to challenge TMC workers could be an indicator of things on ground," says analyst Ramakanto Shanyal.  

TMC protestors alleged that the BJP was trying to enrol voters from outside Bengal to influence the polls in its favour. 

A few BJP leaders said "these are indications that the carpet underneath Mamata Banerjee's feet is moving away" 

The Central forces and local police were both deployed to the spot to bring the tense situation under control. Police, armed with batons, charged protestors in a bid to de-escalate the heated scuffle between the party workers. 

Earlier in the day TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sent a formal complaint to the CEO, WB alleging that the EC is changing the demography of Bengal by including voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the State’s electoral rolls. 

He claimed that the BJP had submitted at least 30,000 Form 6 applications in bulk. 

BJP MP and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar disclaimed responsibility, saying that these complaints were a matter for the Election Commission. 

“I do not have any information if the BJP has made any such [Form 6] submissions,” Majumdar said. 

Mamata's bitter rival in Bhawanipore and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari lodged a formal complaint against Mamata Banerjee for provoking voters against the Central forces. 

“She is asking the women to fight the Central forces. This is a direct attack against the officers engaged in election work,” Adhikari alleged. 

Meanwhile, the EC has repoetedly 'started accepting' online applications by voters who have been deleted from the final voter list but want to contest the decision in an appellate tribunal.

Of the 60 lakh voters who were placed under adjudication during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, at least 13 lakh names have been deleted among the 32 lakh disposed cases, the CEO office says.

These people can appeal to the tribunal for reconsideration of their cases. Though multiple supplementary lists have been published, the complete supplementary list for the 60 lakh voters are yet to be made public. 

A few days back, TMC and BJP workers clashed over putting party flags in North Dinajpur. The BJP leaders alleged Trinamool workers attacked BJP karyakartas who were putting up party flags in support of their candidate at Kachakali Bazaar. Six people were injured.