Will come back but stay alert till last vote is counted: Mamata

KOLKATA: Reassuring party men that Trinamool Congress would retain power in Bengal, party chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Friday instructed the election agents to remain alert till the last vote is counted.

She asked the election agents not to leave the premises where the counting would be held on May 2 till the certificates were handed over to the winning candidates.

Banerjee along with Abhishek Banerjee, president of Trinamool Youth Congress, held a virtual meeting with the candidates and their election agents on Friday afternoon.

"Be rest assured, we are coming back. But, there is no scope to be complacent and you have to be vigilant till the last vote is counted and the certificates are issued to the winning candidates," Trinamool chairperson reportedly told the counting agents.

Party insiders said she told them to be patient as counting might take long hours and attempts might be made to slow down the process. "Don't lose your nerves and don't get excited. Counting may take longer hours and they may slow down the process. Stay cool and do your job carefully," she reportedly told the party workers.

The counting agents had been asked to carefully check the postal ballots and the votes which had been cast by the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) and those above 80 years of age. This is for the first time when the PWDs and those above 80 years of age had cast their votes at home in presence of the officials of the Election Commission.

The agents had also been instructed not to take food offered by the colleagues from other parties. The counting agents will be given dry food. They were given two helpline numbers and had been asked to get in touch with the party in case they face any difficulty at the counting centres.

It was learnt that the agents in north Bengal and East Midnapore were asked to remain alert and vigilant.