BJP leader Tapas Roy criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday for alleging that the BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission, was opening ballot boxes without the presence of relevant party stakeholders.

Roy claimed that TMC leaders were spreading rumours as they prepared for defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections.

Roy arrived at Netaji Indoor Stadium amid protests by TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja against the alleged ballot box tampering. Roy told reporters, “We will deploy two persons to look after the strong room…They (TMC) are just spreading rumours as they are preparing ground for their defeat…Three-layer security arrangements are here.”

TMC leader Shashi Panja accused the BJP of creating disturbances during what had been peaceful protests. She said, “We were sitting on the dharna peacefully…BJP leaders created a ruckus here.”

Kunal Ghosh accused the BJP of removing TMC members while allowing Tapas Roy entry, stating, “We were removed, but Tapas da went inside. What do you call this? That is like their own party office. These agent central police with the BJP people… it is not in the hands of the Kolkata police; even the Kolkata police personnel are now all appointed by the Election Commission.” Ghosh added, “We were there in a peaceful manner. They were here with the intention of stealing; they were working here secretly, opening the strong room without informing anyone before our people reached. After Dr. Panja, I, and our team arrived, we intervened and brought this to attention. Even then, we were not allowed to enter. Later, when we were sitting peacefully, and our work and discussions were going on, the BJP came and caused trouble. Why is the BJP so envious?”

Earlier, the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP, in active collusion with the Election Commission, of opening ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders, calling it “the murder of democracy in broad daylight.” In a post on X, accompanied by a video, TMC described the opening of ballot boxes as gross electoral fraud.

The party said, “ALARMING This is the murder of democracy in broad daylight. CCTV footage has exposed how @BJP4India, in active collusion with the @ECISVEEP, is opening ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders. This is gross electoral fraud being committed openly with the full knowledge and protection of the Election Commission.”

TMC further accused the BJP of resorting to numerous unfair tactics to defeat it in the assembly polls, including voter intimidation and alleged tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs). The party stated, “They have tried every dirty trick, name deletion, voter intimidation, Central Force terror, cash flooding, and failed miserably. Now, in sheer desperation, they have stooped to tampering with EVMs. But Bengal is not Maharashtra, Delhi, or Bihar. We will not sit silently and watch them loot our democracy.”