BJP reacts to Supreme Court decision on counting staff in West Bengal

PTI, May 2, 2026, Kolkata: Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya on Saturday said the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene in the Election Commission’s order on the deployment of Central Government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal is a "clear message" against attempts to cast doubt on the electoral process.

The apex court on Saturday said no further order was necessary on the TMC’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s dismissal of its petition against an Election Commission circular on the deployment of Central Government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal.

The BJP leader, in a social media post, said, "In yet another legal setback, the Supreme Court has refused to intervene. The Trinamool Congress had approached the court challenging the exclusion of State Government employees from vote-counting supervisor duties, and had sought an urgent hearing."

"The refusal to entertain this plea underscores a clear message — attempts to influence or cast doubt over the integrity of the counting process will not find easy validation. Another day, another judicial rebuff for Mamata Banerjee," he added.

There was no immediate response from the TMC on Malviya’s remarks.

A special bench of Justices P. S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said the Election Commission (EC) can choose counting personnel and its April 13 circular cannot be said to be incorrect.

The poll body said the circular is very clear that there will be a mix of Central and State Government employees and the apprehension of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of any wrongdoing is misplaced.

The EC assured the court that the circular would be implemented in letter and spirit.

Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly was held in two phases — April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 4.

On April 30, the Calcutta High Court dismissed the TMC’s petition against the EC circular, saying there was no illegality in the poll panel’s decision to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from Central Government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees instead of State Government staffers.