4 min readKolkataUpdated: Apr 29, 2026 02:46 PM IST
In an unprecedented move, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited polling booths in Bhabanipur as voting in the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections began at 7 am Wednesday, levelling multiple allegations of high-handedness by Central forces and observers.
She visited multiple booths from 7 am, including one in Chetla around 8.30 am, where she met the state minister and the TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port Assembly seat, Firhad Hakim.
Speaking to reporters, Banerjee claimed that “several observers (election observers) who have come from outside and are acting as per the BJP’s directions.” “People are supposed to cast their votes. Can voting take place like this?” she said, alleging that TMC flags and posters had been removed and that “outsiders” were intimidating voters.
“They (police observers) are dancing to the tunes of the BJP. It is not the police and the security forces, but the people who will cast their vote,” she said.
She also accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “harassment” and alleged that Central forces conducted late-night raids. “ECI is openly harassing and tormenting us. We have sent a contempt of court notice, yet countless outside observers have been brought in here. They are clearly dancing to the tunes of the BJP,” she said.
Later, there was high drama in Bhabanipur when both Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP candidate, came to Ward Number 70 in the Chakraberia area.
“They are not allowing the councillor of Ward No. 70 to step out. They are picking up all our boys. Abhishek and I stayed awake the entire night.”
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“Go to Chakraberia, and you will see for yourself that all our posters have been removed. Is this the way elections are meant to be conducted?” she asked.
She also met with Ashim Basu, the TMC councillor of Ward Number 70 under the Bhabanipur Assembly seat. She alleged that Central forces “barged” into his house around 2 am and detained party workers without warrants.
“They are openly targeting our agents and party workers. Midnight raids are being conducted without any legal warrant or shred of evidence. Our workers are being picked up and detained on fabricated grounds just to stop them from performing their polling duties. Their families are being threatened and terrorised at home,” she added.
“BJP’s politics of ‘bhoy’, suppression and brute force, will not work in Bengal. The more you harass us, the stronger we become,” Mamata Banerjee added.
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Meanwhile, BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari also visited polling booths through the morning after offering prayers at a local temple. “People are out to vote. Vote for change. I expect high voter turnout in Bhabanipur, maybe 90 per cent polling. The TMC’s tricks are not working. This time, BJP agents are able to sit in all polling booths,” he told reporters.
Adhikari later reached Chakraberia, where Banerjee was also present, leading to a tense situation in the area amid heavy deployment of central forces.
