Suvendu Adhikari Questions Deployment of Contractual Staff in Bengal Vote Counting Process
Suvendu Adhikari raises concerns over contractual staff in Bengal vote counting, urges EC to ensure neutrality.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of undermining electoral integrity over the deployment of contractual staff for vote counting duties in select Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. His remarks come ahead of the scheduled counting of votes on May 4.
In a post on social media platform X, Adhikari raised objections to the appointment of what he described as “Jibika Sebaks,” “Sahayaks,” and “Contractual Data Entry Operators (DEOs)” for handling sensitive election-related tasks in the Pingla (227) and Daspur (230) Assembly constituencies. He alleged that these personnel could be vulnerable to political pressure and questioned their role in handling Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), and postal ballots.
Adhikari claimed that the presence of contractual and casual workers in counting teams amounted to a “grave concern” and referred to it as a “contractualisation of democracy.” He further alleged that their deployment could compromise the neutrality of the counting process and called for immediate intervention by the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal.
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The BJP leader urged that only permanent and regular government employees should be assigned election counting responsibilities. He also demanded a review of all personnel deployed in counting centres across Paschim Medinipur district, suggesting an audit to remove what he termed “para-staff” from sensitive roles. According to Adhikari, the staffing pattern in the two constituencies includes contractual employees embedded in counting, compilation, and EVM handling teams. He questioned the approval process for such appointments and alleged that the ruling party may be attempting to influence the final outcome of the vote.
The controversy comes amid ongoing political tensions in West Bengal, where both the BJP and TMC have raised concerns over election-related administrative decisions. The TMC has previously objected to the deployment of central government and public sector undertaking employees for counting duties, escalating the dispute over staffing arrangements.
Separately, legal proceedings are also underway regarding the matter. The Supreme Court recently constituted a special bench to hear a petition linked to challenges over counting staff deployment, after earlier proceedings in the Calcutta High Court. The matter is scheduled for further hearing, adding a judicial dimension to the political dispute ahead of counting day.
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