Just hours before the counting of votes in West Bengal, the Election Commission issued a clarification regarding Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips found in a drain in North 24 Parganas district. Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Anrindam Neogi, stated that these slips were mock poll slips from the commissioning stage and not related to the actual polling. The commission has initiated a detailed inquiry and lodged a formal complaint for verification. The discovery of the slips led to complaints from political parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), who are demanding further investigation into the matter. The VVPAT slips allegedly belonged to the Naopara Assembly seat, with claims that some slips bore the names of candidates from various parties. The counting of votes is set to take place on May 4, with repolling scheduled for May 21 in Falta due to electoral offences.