"Vote theft does not happen through EVMs": Abhishek Banerjee questions ECI over SIR

New Delhi [India], December 31 (ANI): Accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of facilitating "vote theft," Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that electoral manipulation does not occur through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), but through administrative processes linked to voter list revisions.
Abhishek Banerjee led a ten-member Trinamool Congress that met the Chief Election Commissioner of India in the national capital.
Citing the BJP's unusually high strike rate in recent state elections, Banerjee pointed to victories in Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, and Bihar, where the party won with an over 88 per cent success rate. He questioned whether this pattern was merely a coincidence, asserting that opposition parties such as the Congress, AAP, and RJD failed to identify and challenge these systemic issues in a timely manner.
"I want to reiterate that these are the same mistakes that the Congress committed in the past, which AAP also failed to point out, and even RJD in Bihar failed to raise, leading to BJP winning with over an 88 percent strike rate. BJP won Maharashtra, Delhi, and Bihar with an 88 percent strike rate. Is this some coincidence? This is vote theft. Vote theft does not happen through EVMs. No other political party was able to point this out in other states," Abhishek Banerjee told reporters.
Banerjee also raised objections to the Election Commission's refusal to allow Booth Level Agent-2 (BLA2) representatives to be present at hearing venues during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He argued that if polling agents are permitted during elections and BLAs can accompany Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during enumeration, there is no justification for barring them from hearings.
"They asked why we want our BLA2 representatives to be present at the hearing venues. I countered by stating that if polling agents are allowed during elections, and if BLAs can accompany BLOs during the distribution of enumeration forms, then why can they not be present at the hearing venues? When he denied this, I urged him to issue a circular on the matter, which he also refused. I then said that if no circular is issued, our BLA2 representatives will be present at the hearing venues. He cannot issue such a circular because he knows it would be challenged in a court of law. An oral statement has no value," Abhishek Banerjee added.
Alleging discriminatory treatment toward West Bengal, Banerjee said the state was being unfairly targeted through the deployment of micro-observers and excessive scrutiny, particularly affecting migrant workers. Drawing a comparison with Bihar, he noted that migrant labourers there were not physically summoned for hearings if family members submitted documents on their behalf.
"There is the step-motherly treatment towards Bengal, from deploying micro-observers to malign Bengal's credibility and harass the people of Bengal, just as in the case of migrant workers. In Bihar, no migrant labourers were physically summoned for hearings. A notice was issued, but based on that notice, if any family member--mother, wife, or father--submitted the documents to the BLO, the migrant worker was never called for a hearing," Banerjee said.
"Why is there one rule for Bihar and another for Bengal?. We raised 8-10 questions, and they could not give credible replies to most of them, except on the issue of persons with disabilities and people above 60. I also raised the issue of decentralising hearing venues, which they agreed to, stating that DMs and DEOs have the discretion to increase the number of venues. They did not give this to the state in writing, but now that they have said it verbally, we will look into it. If hearing venues are increased, people will not face difficulties," Banerjee added.
He further criticised the Election Commission for issuing instructions via WhatsApp rather than through official circulars or notifications.
"Instructions are being given on WhatsApp. Governments function through circulars and notifications, not through WhatsApp directives. Does the Union government and the ECI want to run the country through WhatsApp without issuing any circulars or notifications? What is stopping them from issuing circulars? Why can't BLA2 representatives be part of the hearing process? What is the ECI trying to hide? Why is the ECI not making the discrepancy list public? How can you clean a list by hiding details?," Banerjee said. (ANI)