BALURGHAT, April 20 -- A bizarre and troubling allegation has surfaced from Harirampur in South Dinajpur district, where a living voter has reportedly been marked as "dead" in the electoral rolls, triggering political controversy ahead of the polls.
The issue came to light during an election campaign when local residents approached outgoing state minister Biplab Mitra with a voter list in hand. Among them was farmer Ajahar Islam, who claimed that despite being alive, his name had been shown as "dead" in official records.
Displaying the voter list and expressing his frustration, Islam said: "I am standing here alive, yet on paper I am dead. If I am marked dead, how will I exercise my voting rights?"
The incident has raised serious questions about the accuracy of the voter list and the functioning of the Election Commission.
Political parties have alleged negligence and demanded immediate corrective measures to ensure that genuine voters are not disenfranchised. Responding to the allegation, Biplab Mitra termed the matter "serious" and assured that necessary steps would be taken. He said such discrepancies should be reported to the Election Commission so that they can be rectified before polling.
Locals claimed that similar complaints had been made earlier but no action was taken. According to them, even after approaching officials, the issue remained unresolved.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.