Eggs-plained: How egging became a mode of protest
Ever since Suvendu Adhikari-led government came into power, there have been multiple instances of angry citizens pelting eggs on Trinamool Congress leaders.
Ratna Debnath, the mother of RG Kar rape-murder victim and BJP’s Panihati candidate, on April 29 claimed that a blot of ink covered the symbol of her party in the electronic voting machine (EVM).
After casting her vote at a polling booth, Ratna claimed that voters were kept waiting for over an hour after an ink blot was found covering the button corresponding to the BJP symbol on the EVM.
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“The button of an EVM that corresponds to my party BJP was covered with a blot of an ink,” she said.
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#WATCH | West Bengal Elections 2026 | Panihati: Mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim and BJP candidate from Panihati seat, Ratna Debnath shows her inked finger after casting her vote at a polling booth here. pic.twitter.com/LwhCMA4vhc
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2026
As per reports, the ink was removed using sanitiser after objections, while TMC workers gathered there and created a ruckus with Jay Saha, Chief Election Agent for the BJP candidate.
#WATCH | West Bengal Elections 2026 | At a polling booth in Panihati, there was reportedly a blot of ink on the BJP symbol’s button, rendering it illegible. After objections, the ink was removed using sanitiser. Locals have been waiting for the last hour. TMC workers gathered… pic.twitter.com/UgEfCuAdWn
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2026
Earlier in the day, Ratna alleged that she was surrounded and booed by TMC workers while she was inspecting booths, placing her at the centre of a tense political confrontation in the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections.
She has entered the political arena about 20 months after losing her daughter in a case that sparked widespread outrage. Her campaign has drawn wide attention as it blends personal loss with a broader political message in a fiercely contested election.
Ratna is contesting from Panihati against TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh.
Ratna Debnath says, “TMC workers intensely targeted me earlier today. They sent goons who attacked me while shouting ‘go back’ slogans. The Police refused to cooperate when I asked them to make arrests. Now, as a candidate, I found that in this booth, ink has been put on BJP… https://t.co/7TXfdzHZ4S pic.twitter.com/8eWCrEetmU
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2026
Earlier in the day, an incident of a button corresponding to the BJP was found covered with tape at a polling station in Falta.
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s national IT cell, took to X to share a few videos showcasing how the option to vote for the saffron party was blocked using a tape at several polling booths under the Falta seat in Diamond Harbour.
Debangshu Panda is representing the BJP from the Falta Assembly constituency and is pitted against TMC’s Jehangir Khan.
“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,” Malviya wrote on X.
The BJP has asked for immediate repoll in all the affected booths of Falta seat where these incidents have taken place.
Meanwhile, State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said that repolling will be conducted in all polling stations where black or white tape has been found on EVMs.
Also, if such incidents of tape being found are reported in a large number of booths in any Assembly constituency, then repolling will be held across the entire Assembly seat, Agarwal added.
In the second phase of polling, a total of 142 Assembly constituencies are in the fray. These seats are spread over eight key districts — Kolkata North (7 seats), Kolkata South (4), North 24 Parganas (33), South 24 Parganas (31), Howrah (16), Nadia (17), Hooghly (18), and Purba Bardhaman (16).
During the first phase of voting on April 23, a 93.19% voter turnout was registered. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
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