Missing CCTV footage, proxy voting in Bengal’s Falta: Poll observer’s report

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered a repoll in the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal based on a detailed report from special observer Sujeet Mishra, who flagged multiple polling irregularities across various polling stations in the constituency in South 24 Parganas district, according to the observer’s report, assessed by HT. Missing CCTV footage, proxy voting in Bengal’s Falta: Poll observer’s reportThe issues flagged by the special observer had earlier been reviewed by the returning officer (RO), who dismissed them as not serious enough to warrant concern. The observer’s report, submitted on May 1, however, contradicted that assessment by presenting a station-by-station account of violations. A day after receiving the report, ECI ordered a repoll in the constituency on May 21. While the results of 293 of the state’s 294 constituencies will be declared on Monday, the votes of Falta constituency will be counted on May 24. According to the eight-page report, signed by SO Mishra, after voting concluded on April 29 — the constituency voted in the second phase — the returning officer and general observer of the 144-Falta constituency conducted scrutiny the next day at Diamond Harbour Women’s University. They submitted a report stating there was no vitiation of the poll process. After reviewing the same records, the SO, however, found flaws in how the scrutiny was done. The observer’s report said the scrutiny was carried out “mechanically and hurriedly by relying mainly on official records without proper examination of video footage.” The observer further found that the scrutiny was conducted in the absence of a candidate who had raised several complaints — meaning those complaints were never considered. Written notice of scrutiny, as required under ECI instructions, “could not be shown to have been duly served upon the candidates,” the report added. The observer said that “examination of available footage revealed serious procedural violations attracting Section 58(b) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951” — violations that the returning officer’s scrutiny had entirely missed. The observer’s report details violations across dozens of polling stations in Falta constituency, derived from CCTV footage review. At polling station 229 in the constituency, no video footage was available from the start of the poll until 3.41 pm, while at polling station 177, footage was unavailable during three separate windows: 11.05 am to 1.15 pm, 1.28 pm to 1,38 pm, and 3.04 pm to 3.22 pm. The observer noted that the station recorded an “atmosphere of fear even among election officials.” At polling station 226, the report said, video was unavailable for long periods between 11 am and 1.12 pm, and again between 1.18 pm and 4.43 pm. Similarly, footage was missing from 11 am to 2.30 pm at polling station 230, with “companions casting votes” and “unauthorised persons entering polling station” also recorded. At polling station 235, video was missing from 10.55 am to 11.59 am, with the same person “repeatedly entering the voting compartment” and “two voters simultaneously inside compartment.” The report said: “Serious allegations of intimidation and voter obstruction remained unverified due to missing footage.” Besides missing footage, the report also documented violations where cameras did function. At polling station 224, the observer noted in his report, “an extremely large number of instances where companions cast votes on behalf of voters throughout the day; multiple persons inside voting compartment; same individuals appeared to vote multiple times; polling agent repeatedly approached compartment and cast votes on behalf of voters.” Similar incidents also emerged from polling stations 160, 182, and 232, among others, the repost said. Incidents of polling officials repeatedly entering voting compartments emerged from polling stations 144, 80, and 247, among others, the report said. The observer concluded that 60 of the assembly constituency’s 285 polling stations, or 21% of the total, had been vitiated during the elections. “These 60 PS amounted to 21% of the total number of PS in the Constituency. As many as 22.82% electors — 53,967 out of the total 236,444 electors — were enrolled for voting at these polling stations,” the report added.