The BJP has decided to depute around 12,000 trained counting agents to firmly remain in their posts till the counting process ends and the final outcome is announced from their respective constituencies on May 4.
The move has been taken to ensure there is no repetition of the 2021 counting day on May 2, when many BJP counting agents were allegedly forced to leave the centres once the scoreboard tilted heavily in favour of the Trinamool Congress.
BJP leaders had alleged that several of their counting agents abandoned their posts due to threats and pressure from Trinamool activists. In many places, BJP leaders claimed, their agents were beaten up and driven away from the counting centres once the trends showed Trinamool moving far beyond the majority mark.
“Trinamool cannot repeat what it did on the counting day in 2021. We have been appointing efficient and committed party workers as counting agents who will never leave their posts till the final scoresheet is prepared,” said BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya.
On average, there will be around 14 tables for EVM counting in a specific Assembly constituency. In addition, there will be seven to eight tables for postal ballot counting. Altogether, there will be nearly 22 counting tables in each Assembly constituency, meaning a political party will need around 6,468 counting agents to man all the tables across Bengal.
Usually, parties submit the names of two agents for each table in case one fails to reach because of personal or health reasons. Accordingly, the BJP has selected around 12,000 party workers as counting agents across Bengal’s 77 counting centres.
Bengal's two-phase election ended on April 29.
For the BJP, result day May 4 is not only crucial but extremely sensitive in light of their 2021 experience.
“The most important issue is that the counting agents need to stay firm at their posts. If our agents leave the counting hall, we fear TMC may overpower the counting process,” said a BJP leader in Calcutta.
To train party leaders in the selection and management of counting agents, top BJP leaders, including Bengal minder Sunil Bansal, state election in-charge Bhupender Yadav, and state unit president Samik Bhattacharya, have started district-level review meetings. The training programme began in Siliguri on Friday. Bhattacharya was in Durgapur on Saturday to brief leaders of central Bengal about the party’s counting-day strategy.
Each district committee has organised training sessions for counting agents in their respective Assembly seats and instructed them to monitor every round, note down electoral figures and report any irregularity immediately. The counting agents had been asked to give special focus to the counting of postal ballots.
Each district will have a dedicated control room, while the state BJP headquarters in Calcutta will run a central control room to monitor the state and stay connected with the EC in case of any untoward incident.
“We have successfully gone through the two-phase polling process. Now our final job is to ensure a robust counting strategy by deploying competent counting agents. We will do it, and its reflection will be visible on the counting day,” said a senior BJP leader in Calcutta.
BJP leaders said the EC's decision to depute central government employees as counting supervisors and counting assistants at each table would help avoid a rerun of the "malpractices of 2021".
They said central government employees were less likely to allow any manipulation during counting.
A BJP leader claimed this time even the state government employees "won't be biased" like some "were in 2021”, because the BJP promised to implement the Seventh Pay Commission in Bengal if brought to power. “We want a fair counting process from the EC just like it delivered free and fair polling,” he added.
Women vigil
BJP women workers will stage sit-in demonstrations on Sunday outside strong rooms in all Assembly seats. A source said this decision was taken to counter Trinamool's move to guard strong rooms. BJP sources said all nominees would go to temples to offer "puja" on Sunday, the eve of results.