Trinamool writes to EC over Gujarat firm being given Kaliganj poll webcast tender
Trinamool
Congress has written a letter to Election Commission accusing a Gujarat-based company being given the tender by Election Commission for webcasting in Nadia's Kaliganj polls, urging appropriate steps to review the entire selection process.
'We strongly urge you to take urgent and appropriate steps to review the entire selection process and ensure that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the principles of fairness, transparency, and meritocracy. We believe it is critical to address these issues to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process and prevent any erosion of public faith in the system,' Trinamool Congress wrote in the letter to the EC, ahead of the by-polls tomorrow.
Kaliganj will go to polls on June 19, along with WB Assembly polls on June 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 23. The bypolls are being conducted in five assembly constituencies of four state- Gujarat's Kadi and Visavadar, Kerala's Nilambur, Punjab's Ludhiana West, and West Bengal's Kaliganj.
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'We have raised concerns over the selection of this company. The tender process was not opaque and it was designed in a way, that Vmukti company can be given the tender,' state minister and senior leader Chandrima Bhattacharya claimed on Wednesday.
Trinamool Congress claimed serious objections over 'procedural manipulation and biased intent in the tender process'
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Bhattacharya said, 'On 2nd June 2025, the CEO-WB floated a tender for webcasting services for the upcoming bye-election in 80-Kaliganj AC (Nadia) scheduled for 19th June. What should have been a transparent and competitive bidding process has now emerged as a textbook case of contract rigging designed to favour a pre-selected vendor and deliberately eliminate capable, experienced Bengal-based agencies.'
'First, the tender timeline was unusually tight, effectively disqualifying regional, experienced service providers from participating. The schedule appears to be a deliberate rushed and ploy to limit competition, raising serious suspicion of collusion and pre-determined selection,' the party claimed.
The party also claimed that there was a high-eligibility criterion that was inserted. 'Bidders were required to have implemented at least one project in the last three years involving a minimum of 100 vehicle-mounted live video streaming units. This clause has never before featured in any CEO-WB tender (2016, 2019, 2021, 2024). No other CEO office across India has included such a condition,' Bhattacharya alleged.
Multiple bidders strongly objected during the pre-bid meeting on 4th June 2025, labelling it as a deliberate barrier to competition
The party claimed that the evaluation process was manipulated. 'Only three agencies were deemed eligible: Vmukti, iNet Secure Labs, and Brihaspati. We call upon the Commission to ensure fairness and neutrality,' the party leadership said.
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