New Delhi, 1 May 

The Election Commission on Friday ordered repolling on 2 May in 15 polling stations in West Bengal, where voting was held on 29 April in the second phase of the Assembly elections.

In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal, theElection Commission (EC) said the repolling has been ordered based on inputs received from the state poll machinery and voting will be held from 7am to 6pm.

While 11 polling stations are in the Magarhat Paschim Assembly constituency, four are in Diamond Harbour. A report about complaints relating to the Falta constituency is awaited. A large number of complaints were received from the constituency.

This is the first time that repolling has been ordered in the present set of Assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

No repolling was recommended in the first phase of the WestBengal polls held on 23 April.

BJP's co-incharge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya, alleged that voters were prevented from choosing the party candidate at several polling booths in Falta under the Diamond Harbour constituency during phase two of Assembly elections in the State.

He claimed that in multiple booths, the BJP option was allegedly blocked using tape, calling it the "Diamond Harbour Model" and demanding a repoll in the affected areas.

In a post on X, Malviya wrote, "This is what Mamata Banerjee was defending when she spoke up for Jehangir Khan, a criminal contesting on a TMC ticket from Falta in Diamond Harbour. In several polling booths, the option to vote for the BJP has been blocked using a tape, effectively preventing voters from exercising their choice. This is the so-called 'Diamond Harbour Model,' the same template that helped Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee secure his Lok Sabha seat."

On the day of polling, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said that the polling booths with taping of any EVM button will undergo repolling, after the BJP alleged irregularities in Falta under the Diamond Harbour constituency.