‘Ghost voters’ uncovered in Siliguri: TMC demands action
Siliguri: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders found ‘ghost voters’ in Siliguri, sparking a political controversy ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
In one case, a resident of Khudirampally in Dabgram-II Gram Panchayat (GP) under Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly Constituency, Belal Mia, alleged that he recently went to the bank to take a loan. When his EPIC number from his voter card was entered into the computer, it displayed the name of Sheela Devi, a woman from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, instead of Mia’s own.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the same EPIC number was registered under two different names: Belal Mia in Siliguri and Sheela Devi in Bhopal. This discovery raised immediate suspicions of voter fraud, as Mia had been unknowingly voting under this same EPIC number for more than two decades.
A similar incident happened with Shushanta Mandal, a resident of Shiv Mandir under Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly Constituency. He found another voter named Navinazi Thakur, a resident of Gujrat, with the EPIC number of his voter card. He raised a complaint to the election Commission.
In another case, Ranjan Sarkar, the Deputy Mayor and councillor of Ward 15, found out that the name of a voter from his ward Meera Roy, had been listed in two voter lists: one in Siliguri in Ward 15 part 185, serial number 326 and another in Namchi, Sikkim with serial number 314.
Ranjan Sarkar said: “I have found around 100 names in the new voter list who have died or shifted somewhere else. The same voter names have been registered in two different voter lists with the same EPIC number. The Union government and BJP are committing fraud with the voter list and the Election Commission is not taking any steps yet. I have registered a complaint to the Additional Commissioner about this.”
“Even if the BJP wins with their fabricated voter lists in Delhi, their conspiracy to control the state through ghost voters will never succeed. We will ensure that the Election Commission takes immediate action on this matter,” Sarkar further added.
However, Shankar Ghosh, the MLA of Siliguri denied the allegations. He stated that BJP has no connection with this, the Election Commission is responsible for voter lists.
