Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Wednesday threw a challenge to the BJP and other Opposition parties in Bengal to get altogether 32 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Speaking to media, Ghosh stated that the BJP even fails to appoint Booth Level Agent (BLA2) in booths. Despite the Election Commission of India (ECI) modifying the BLA appointment rules the saffron camp failed to find BLA2 in booths. “BLA2 who are appointed in booths by political parties point out various issues. BJP fails to appoint BLA2. The BJP has made the ECI change the BLA rules and issue a circular. Despite this, the BJP fails to appoint BLA2s in booths. We had opposed the ECI’s changing the norms that favoured the BJP. How will the BJP appoint BLA2s at booth level as they are completely alienated from the people at the ground
level,” Ghosh said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had earlier alleged a nexus between the BJP and the ECI in modifying the BLA appointment rules. The party had accused the EC of favouring the BJP during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal. The earlier guidelines required BLAs to be registered electors from the specific electoral roll Part to which they were appointed. The new amendment permits BLA appointments from anywhere within the Assembly Constituency citing “unavailability”.
TMC alleged that the Commission changed the BLA appointment rules to please the BJP as the latter was struggling to find agents from specific polling booths. It further alleged that the BJP, unable to find local agents, was exploiting the rule change to import outsiders and manipulate the electoral process. Mpost