The Election Commission of India (ECI) will decide on April 30 whether to order a repoll across 77 booths in West Bengal after complaints of alleged Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering during Phase 1 of the 2026 Assembly election.
All 77 booths fall within the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, held by Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, according to The Telegraph. The contested booths span four Assembly segments: Falta, Magrahat, Diamond Harbour and Budge Budge.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the names of its candidates were covered with tape on EVMs at multiple booths, accounting for the bulk of the 77 complaints submitted to the poll panel, India Today reported.
Phase 1 of the West Bengal Assembly election concluded on April 23, covering 152 of the state’s 294 constituencies. Tamil Nadu voted for all 234 Assembly seats on the same day.
The ECI conducted post-poll scrutiny of Form 17A and related election documents on April 24 across the 152 West Bengal constituencies and 234 Tamil Nadu constituencies. The verification was held in the presence of general observers and candidates or their representatives, the poll body said in an April 25 statement.
On April 29, ECI officials told The Hindu that no repoll had been ordered in either Tamil Nadu or West Bengal after the initial scrutiny. The 77 fresh complaints from Diamond Harbour triggered a separate review scheduled for decision on April 30.
The four Assembly segments under review sit within South 24 Parganas district. Diamond Harbour has been represented by Abhishek Banerjee in the Lok Sabha since 2014.
Each of the 77 booths flagged in the complaints will be examined individually before a repoll order is issued. The ECI requires evidence of procedural breach, machine malfunction or interference with the secrecy of the vote before ordering fresh polling.
| Assembly segment | District | Lok Sabha seat |
|---|---|---|
| Falta | South 24 Parganas | Diamond Harbour |
| Magrahat | South 24 Parganas | Diamond Harbour |
| Diamond Harbour | South 24 Parganas | Diamond Harbour |
| Budge Budge | South 24 Parganas | Diamond Harbour |
The BJP complaint centred on candidate identification on the ballot units. Party representatives alleged adhesive tape had been placed over BJP candidate names and symbols on EVMs in several booths, obstructing voter visibility on polling day.
The poll panel has not publicly released a booth-wise list of the 77 locations under review. The ECI’s standard practice is to communicate repoll orders directly to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, who notifies returning officers in affected constituencies.
Phase 1 polling on April 23 recorded participation across the 152 seats without any major incident flagged by the Commission that day. The post-poll scrutiny on April 24 was the first formal review stage, followed by candidate-level grievance redressal.
The ECI is expected to issue its order on the 77 Diamond Harbour booths on April 30. If a repoll is ordered, fresh polling dates and booth notifications will follow under Section 58 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Counting for Phase 1 seats is scheduled after all phases of the West Bengal election conclude.
