Trinamool Panchayat Leader Holds EPIC Cards from Two Assembly Regions
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Synopsis
Trinamool Congress faces scrutiny as a panchayat head is found on voter rolls in two assembly constituencies in West Bengal. Sefali Khatun's situation raises questions about electoral integrity, prompting reactions from BJP and clarifications from the Election Commission.
Key Takeaways
- Sefali Khatun listed as a voter in two assembly constituencies.
- BJP raises concerns with Election Commission.
- Clarification issued on duplicate EPIC numbers.
- Trinamool Congress disputes ECI statements.
- Issues of electoral integrity highlighted.
Kolkata, March 4 (NationPress) The Trinamool Congress appears to be in a difficult position as one of their panchayat body leaders has been found listed as a voter in two separate assembly constituencies within a specific district of West Bengal.
The ruling party figure involved is Sefali Khatun, who serves as the head of the Kalygunj Panchayat Samiti in Nadia district.
The BJP leadership in the state has alerted the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, providing evidence to support their claims regarding Khatun’s dual listing as a voter in both Nakashipara and Kalygunj assembly constituencies, also in Nadia district.
In response to media inquiries, Khatun stated that she was unaware her name remained on the voter list of Nakashipara, where she previously resided.
“We used to live in Nakashipara, and my name was on the voter list there. However, we later moved to Debgram under the Kalygunj assembly constituency, and I registered as a voter there. I was not aware that my name was still on the Nakashipara list,” she stated.
The state BJP leadership commented that such explanations are comical from someone who is part of the administration.
After this issue was reported to the ECI, Khatun’s name was removed from the Nakashipara voter list.
While speaking at a recent Trinamool Congress organizational meeting, the Chief Minister accused the BJP of including voters from other states in the West Bengal voter list, citing instances of voters from two different states having the same EPIC numbers.
On Sunday, the ECI released a statement indirectly countering the allegations made by Mamata Banerjee, asserting that duplicate EPIC numbers do not necessarily indicate duplicate or fraudulent voters. The commission clarified that some instances of duplicate EPIC numbers arose due to the use of identical alphanumeric series by different states or Union Territories.
Nevertheless, the Trinamool Congress dismissed the commission’s statement as mere window dressing, asserting it did not align with the ECI’s existing guidelines.
