Kolkata, Oct 30 (NationPress) The Trinamool Congress on Thursday charged the Election Commission with inconsistencies in the 2002 voters' list of West Bengal, claiming that numerous names have been removed in advance of the forthcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral rolls.

During a press briefing in Kolkata, Trinamool Congress spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh asserted that the newly released digital edition of the 2002 voters’ list by the Election Commission does not correspond with the figures in the printed version from that year.

He noted that the discrepancies are widespread, affecting multiple booths across the state. “The Election Commission has made a digital version of the 2002 voter list available, yet many names present in the original hard copy have vanished. This raises significant alarm,” Ghosh remarked.

It is significant to recall that the last Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal’s electoral rolls took place in 2002. According to Election Commission guidelines, individuals listed in the 2002 document do not need to provide additional documentation for verification in the current revision process—they only need to submit the previous list along with the enumeration form.

Claiming that the poll panel’s digital update has resulted in extensive omissions, Ghosh stated: “In the 2002 hard copy of the voter list for booth number 2 in Natabari under the Cooch Behar Assembly constituency, there were 717 names. However, in the recently uploaded digital version of the same booth, only 140 names are visible. What happened to the others?”

State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also participated in the press conference.

The Trinamool Congress leader further indicated that similar inconsistencies have been identified in numerous other constituencies. “In booth number 160 of Mathabhanga College (room 2), the 2002 list included 846 voters, yet now only 416 names are listed. The details of serial numbers 417 to 841 are absent. Similarly, in booth number 159 under Guma-1 Gram Panchayat of Habra-2 block in the Ashoknagar Assembly constituency, the 2002 voter list data is entirely missing,” he elaborated.

Ghosh also pointed out that in booth number 61, data from serial numbers 343 to 414 is absent, and in Majherdabari of Alipurduar, the names of the booth-level officer’s (BLO) own family members—father, mother, and brother—have been removed from the list.

The ruling party in West Bengal has asserted that these omissions suggest a larger political conspiracy. “We suspect that a scheme is being devised at the BJP office to erase genuine voters' names from the list via the Election Commission's website,” Ghosh alleged.

He also questioned how BJP leaders could confidently assert that a significant number of names would be omitted after the SIR. “This raises suspicions about whether they are already aware of what is occurring behind the scenes,” he added.

The Trinamool Congress has urged the Election Commission to rectify these alleged irregularities before moving forward with the revision exercise, emphasizing that preserving the integrity of the electoral rolls is crucial for fair elections.