Kolkata, March 10 – The West Bengal Police on Tuesday refuted allegations made by Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, regarding the handling of postal ballots by reserve officers of the state police for the upcoming assembly elections.
In a post on X, the West Bengal Police said, "The allegation is strongly refuted. There is no provision for reserve officers to collect postal ballots (PB) from police personnel. PBs are only issued by the presiding officer at the postal voting centre (PVC). After casting their vote, the voter seals the PB in a prescribed envelope and drops it in the designated drop box at the PVC. The entire process is video-recorded."
The response from the state police came days after Suvendu Adhikari targeted the Mamata Banerjee government for violating norms after a district administration assigned the handling of postal ballots to the West Bengal Police Welfare Organisation.
Using his X handle, Adhikari said on Sunday that such a move undermines the very foundations of democracy and urged the Election Commission to take cognizance of the matter.
Rejecting his claims, the Bengal Police said, "The procedure followed is as follows: Police personnel deployed outside their constituency on election duty exercise their franchise through the Postal Ballot facility for Absentee Voters in Essential Services (AVES) by applying through Form 12D. The Police Nodal Officer forwards the applications to the concerned Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer of the constituency where the personnel are registered voters for verification."
The post continued, "Approved voters receive SMS intimation regarding the venue, date, and time of voting at the PVC. Details of the arrangements are also published on the official website of the District Election Officer."
According to the state police, PVCs are set up at the Returning Officer headquarters where police personnel report.
After due identification in the presence of polling agents of political parties, eligible personnel cast their votes through postal ballot at the PVC, ensuring participation in the democratic process in a transparent manner. There is no possibility of Postal Ballots being taken out of the PVC or being collected by Reserve Officers of Police," the post stated.