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

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

The ECI said that repolling will be held at 11 booths of Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency and 4 booths of Diamond Harbour Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas in West Bengal.

"I am directed to state that based on reports received from the concerned Returning Officers and the Observers of 142-Magrahat Paschim AC and 143-Diamond Harbour AC regarding poll taken for General Election to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal, 2026, held on 29th April, 2026 and after taking all material circumstances into account, the Commission hereby declares, under sub-section (2) of Section 58 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that the poll taken on 29th April, 2026 for the aforesaid election at the following Polling Stations (as mentioned in Column 3 of the table below) to be void and appoints 2nd May, 2026 as the date and fixes the hours, for taking fresh poll at the said Polling Stations," Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer wrote in the order.

"I am further to state that the widest possible publicity should be given by beating of drums in the polling area, and contesting candidates should be informed in writing about the fresh poll being taken on the said date," the poll body added.

It has received 32 complaints from Falta, 29 from Diamond Harbour, 13 from Magrahat, and three from Budge Budge.

A report about complaints relating to the Falta constituency is awaited. A large number of complaints was received from the constituency.

Requests for repolling typically come from political parties, candidates, polling agents or observers, citing issues such as EVM malfunction, booth capturing, intimidation, or breaches of voting secrecy.

Officials reportedly said that the complaints include allegations of EVM tampering, use of substances on machines, and attempts to obstruct surveillance cameras.

The controversy centers on Diamond Harbour, a high-profile constituency where Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Jahangir Khan, a close aide to Abhishek Banerjee, is in the fray. BJP candidate Debangshu Panda has launched a formal complaint, accusing the TMC of actively obstructing citizens from voting in his favor.

Adding weight to these claims, BJP IT chief Amit Malviya shared video footage allegedly showing that the buttons for both the BJP and CPM candidates were taped over in several locations. Specific booths under fire include numbers 144, 170, and 189.

The EC has labeled the complaint as “serious.” Officials have clarified that presiding officers are strictly responsible for ensuring that all EVM buttons remain visible and free from tape, glue, or any other substances.

Voting at these booths was held on April 29 during the second phase of the West Bengal assembly election, but the EC has declared the poll void under Section 58(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

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 West Bengal polls held on April 23.