BJP falls short of majority: Who will be the kingmakers to help Modi form the govt?

The TMC said the results are a reflection of people's faith in the "pro-people policies" of the Mamata Banerjee government and a decisive mandate against the BJP in the state. "The results are a reflection of people's faith in the pro-people policies of the TMC government led by our supremo Mamata Banerjee," TMC spokesperson Santanu Sen was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

"The people through this decisive mandate against the BJP have defeated the anti-Bengal forces. The results have also proved that the exit polls were a farce by the pro-BJP media," Sen was further quoted as saying. Exit polls had shown BJP winning with a clear majoriy in Bengal, and in India.

Ecstatic TMC activists started celebrating by dancing to drum beats and smeared each other with 'green' gulal as the trends across West Bengal poured in. In 2019, the TMC had won 22 seats, whereas the BJP had won 18, and the Congress had bagged two seats. If the trends hold up, the TMC is poised to win with a historic margin.

"Joy Bangla (Hail Bengal)", "TMC Zindabad," BJP Hai Hai" slogans rented the air as thousands of TMC supporters hit the streets in Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar, Diamond Harbour, Barrackpore, seats in the city and its neighbourhood. Jubilant party supporters also gathered in large numbers in Asansol, Durgapur-Bardhaman and many other parts and exchanged sweets.

"The celebrations have just started. The consistent campaign by the outsider BJP against Bengal, and the comments by the Prime Minister against the eating habits of people have been rebuffed by the voters. People have voted for Didi and Abhishek Banerjee," said a TMC activist in Jadavpur. Many workers were spotted holding pictures of the TMC supremo and cutouts of the party symbol.

As India awaits its new government, it must be noted that most voters cast their ballots through the EVM, a method that has long been criticised by opposition parties. Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is an electronic device for recording votes. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the Polling Officer in charge of the Control Unit will release a ballot by pressing the Ballot Button on the Control Unit. This will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of choice.

Hardly any election has gone by where the opposition parties have not alleged EVM tampering. However, authorities like the Election Commission have maintained that EVMs cannot be tampered with. The Supreme Court backed this when in April it dismissed petitions seeking a full tally of EVM voting with VVPAT slips, calling it unrealistic. "Tampering is only possible with physical access and the elaborate sealing process of EVMs done by the ECI prevents this from happening," a 2019 report by experts had said.

Over the years, opposition parties across the country during each elections have alleged tampering or manipulation of EVMs. Recently, Congress' Bhupesh Baghel who is poised to win in Chhattisgarh, had alleged EVM tampering. Posting a long chart on X, Baghel had said, "According to the information given in Form 17C after the voting in my constituency Rajnandgaon, the numbers of many machines have changed". Not only this, countless numbers of allegations from parties like Congress, SP, TMC and othrs have accused EVM tampering being a possibility.

The Election Commission, however, has long maintained its stance that EVMs cannot be hacked or tampered with. "...The ECI-EVMs are not computer controlled, are stand alone machines and not connected to the internet and /or any other network at any point of time. Hence, there is no chance of hacking by remote devices," the EC had said in a press release in 2017. The EC has also explained in detail the security that is in place to prevent EVM tampering and hacking.