New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Saturday, 2 May, ordered fresh polling in the Falta seat of West Bengal on May 21. The ECI cited ‘severe electoral offences’ and ‘subversion of the democratic processes’ during the polling that was held in the second and final phase on April 29 as the reason behind the decision. According to the orders of the Election Commission of India, polling will take place at all 285 polling stations in the Falta Assembly Constituency.
The counting of votes for the Falta repoll will be carried out on May 24. Votes for other constituencies will be counted as per the schedule on May 4.
Before Falta, the Election Commission of India, in 1996, ordered fresh polling for the Patna Parliamentary constituency in Bihar. It is one of the most famous instances of the showcasing of the power that the Election Commission of India (ECI) holds to stop widespread electoral fraud.
During these elections, “booth capturing” happened on a large scale, as at that time voting was held using ballot paper instead of the EVMs. The ECI took a tough stance and ordered a repoll on 700 booths out of the total 1,801 booths in the constituency.
In the 1996 Patna case, the EC could have cancelled the entire election, but it opted to declare the poll void at 700 booths. This particular case and the Falta case matter a lot as they highlight the extent of the alleged malpractices by the political parties and leaders, as well as the power of the Election Commission of India.
