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In a late-night post on X, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that deliberate load-shedding is underway in places around EVM strong rooms (such as Serampore (Hooghly), Krishnanagar (Nadia), Ausgram (Burdwan), and Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, Kolkata). She claimed that in these power outages, CCTV cameras are being switched off, as vehicles are observed coming in and out of the facility.

Mamata encouraged TMC workers to work all night and guard the strongrooms and group anybody who observed suspicious activity. The claims emerged only a few hours prior to the commencement of counting in the May 4, 2026, assembly elections (high stakes).

There has been a high level of security by the Election Commission and state officials using three-level arrangements in the counting centers. The new controversy has raised the political temperature in Bengal as initial indications start coming out of the counting exercise.