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Kolkata, Oct 19 (IANS) The BJP on Sunday claimed that Trinamool Congress’s massive victory of over seven lakh votes from Diamond Harbor Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district in the 2024 elections is an “insult to the electoral process of West Bengal”.
In the Lok Sabha elections last year, Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was elected from Diamond Harbor for the second consecutive time by defeating BJP’s Abhijit Das alias Bobby by a margin of 7,10,930 votes.
BJP’s information technology cell chief and party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, made a social media post in the morning, where he justified his contention that this “record” margin from Diamond Harbor was the result of organized vote-looting.
Justifying his argument, Malviya cited a recent television channel interview of Swapan Mandal, general secretary of BLO Aikya Manch and an organization of booth level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal.
“Abhishek Banerjee’s margin of victory is an indictment on West Bengal’s electoral process. The testimony of former presiding officer Swapan Mandal shows that this “record” was created through systematic plunder – exposing TMC’s shameless contempt for democracy,” Malviya said and cited Mandal’s statements in interviews on alleged election malpractices at Diamond Harbor in 2024.
Malviya cited various claims of the Mandal, such as preventing genuine voters from casting their votes, covering the EVM buttons of other candidates with black tape, leaving only the Trinamool Congress button open, and casting votes in the names of dead persons and migrant workers who were absent from the constituency, etc.
Malviya had also claimed that the Diamond Harbor model, implemented in 2024, is the answer to why West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is strongly opposing the Special Incentive Amendment (SIR) of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“Swapan Mandal has indicated that widespread irregularities – including dead, absentee and potentially illegal voters – are increasing TMC’s numbers. A clean voter list through SIR will destroy the foundation of TMC’s bogus mandate. It needs this compromised ecosystem to survive. Diamond Harbor is not an isolated incident – it is the showcase model for TMC’s planned hold on the 2026 elections. Yes,” Malaviya said.
According to him, the first important step to prevent similar electoral malpractices in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections is to ensure a thorough, transparent SIR to reclaim the true mandate of the people of Bengal.
–IANS
Source/DPB