Trinamool Congress: leaked conversation between BJP leaders shows attempt to influence poll body

On the day the first phase of elections was held in Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress showed the media leaked phone conversations that took the election battle to a different level. The Bengal Story could not independently verify the authenticity of the tapes.

BJP showed the media a leaked conversation allegedly between Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and a BJP worker Proloy Pal of Nandigram who was earlier working for her party. In the conversation, the voice attributed to Banerjee asks him to “return” and work for her again. Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee said if the conversation is authentic, he was proud of Banerjee that she could do this for a party worker. Pal is now working for Suvendu Adhikari, and refuses to return to Trinamool (in the conversation).

The Trinamool on the other hand disclosed to the media an alleged phone conversation between BJP leaders Mukul Roy and Sisir Bajoria discussing a matter that they say raises questions on the non-partisan role of the Election Commission. The Trinamool Congress has said that the party will take the matter to the “highest level possible”.

According to the Trinamool, in a conversation between Bajoria and Roy, the latter asks him to include in a list of items to be raised with the Election Commission. One request is about polling agents or booth agents of political parties, who sit inside polling booths on voting day and are mandatorily residents of the area. In the leaked conversation, Roy purportedly says the EC should be requested for an administrative order permitting any voter anywhere in Bengal to be booth agents at any booth in the state. Roy tells Bajoria that if this does not happen, the BJP won’t be able to field agents in many booths.

Last week, the EC passed an order allowing Bengal voters to be booth agents anywhere in the state.

The Trinamool has been asking this order to be rescinded. On Saturday, Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee said that such an important order will harm the democracy and the election process, as booth agents essentially sit inside the booths as they can “identity” the voters by face for being local persons. “The order allowing anyone from outside to be present in booths is harmful for the election process. Also, this was done by the EC without even calling an all-party meeting,” Mukherjee said.