Repolling disrupted in West Bengal, India after EVM malfunction halts voting
The repolling began at 7:00 am across multiple booths but was delayed at one location due to the technical issue, leading to long queues and frustration among voters
Repolling in parts of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district was disrupted on Saturday after an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) malfunction halted voting for more than an hour at a booth in the Diamond Harbour constituency, officials and voters said.
The repolling began at 7:00 am across multiple booths but was delayed at one location due to the technical issue, leading to long queues and frustration among voters, says Business Standard India.
One elector, speaking to officials at the site, said if voting could not proceed, authorities should "close the booth" so people could leave rather than continue waiting.
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Voting later resumed, and officials said the process proceeded smoothly at other locations, including booth number 117 in Diamond Harbour, where voters reported that the EVM was functioning normally during the repoll. Some voters noted that the machine at that booth had previously malfunctioned during an earlier round of polling.
The Election Commission ordered repolling across 15 booths in the Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim assembly constituencies following complaints of voter interference and technical irregularities during the earlier phase of voting.
The decision followed allegations made by BJP West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya, who said voters were prevented from choosing BJP candidates at several booths in the Falta area during phase two of the state elections.
Voters also referred to earlier disruptions. One elector at booth 117 described previous issues, saying there were "irregularities" during the initial polling on 29 April.
Security was tightened during Saturday's repoll, with Rapid Action Force personnel deployed near polling stations to prevent further disruption.
In Diamond Harbour, BJP candidate Dipak Kumar Halder is contesting against sitting MLA Panna Lal Halder of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In Magrahat Paschim, BJP candidate Goursundar Ghosh is facing TMC's Samim Ahamed Molla.
Vote counting for the elections is scheduled for 4 May 2026.
