EC directs revision of voters’ list for Kaliganj assembly bypoll
Times of India | 29 March 2025
12 Kolkata: The Election Commission on Friday took serious note of bogus voters and, as an extraordinary measure, asked for a mandatory revision of the voters' list specifically for Kaliganj assembly constituency in Nadia, where a bypoll is due.
EC wants to hold the bypoll soon, which was necessitated following the death of Trinamool MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in Feb.
With complaints of bogus voters and voters with duplicate EPIC numbers surfacing, EC wants a dedicated roll revision for Kaliganj. The preliminary list will be released on April 8, and the final one by May 5.
The EC decision, for one particular assembly constituency before a bypoll, was a first in Bengal, an official said. This was mainly because there were complaints that in Nadia, many 60-plus voters were turning out to be first-time voters, which also surprised EC officials.
Moreover, Kaliganj is not far from the Bangladesh border. There were allegations that after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina govt, a large number of Bangladeshi citizens entered India through Nadia, a point Congress highlighted in its complaint to EC during an all-party meeting at the CEO's office on Friday.
Though EC officials did not explicitly say this was an unprecedented move, they added that this was linked to nationwide concerns about bogus voters and duplicate EPIC cards.
CM Mamata Banerjee raised the issue of duplicate EPICs among Bengal voters and flagged that bogus voters were entering the rolls in Bengal. Bengal power and youth affairs minister Aroop Biswas also lodged a complaint on Friday with CEO Dibyendu Das about voters from outside the state having their names on Bengal's voters' list.
An EC official said the commission planned to hold bypolls in eight assembly seats across the country, including Kaliganj.
Though EC's standard procedures allow year-round voter registration, during Fridy's meet, political parties wanted new voters — who were enrolled in every quarter before their names were updated in the final voters' list — to be informed about the inclusion, so that if there were any objections, the parties could raise them. The parties would also submit an updated list of booth-level agents so they can be contacted in case of complexities.
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