The name of a 70-year-old woman from Pandaveshwar in West Bardhaman district has appeared in 44 different voter lists across various constituencies in West Bengal. The discrepancy was discovered during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive.
Maya Rani Goswami, a resident of Baidyanathpur Panchayat, was shocked when she scanned the QR code printed on her SIR form. Her name was listed as a voter in 44 separate assembly constituencies across the state.
“I had no idea that I was a voter in 44 different places. I still don’t know how this happened,” she said in disbelief. Goswami used to live elsewhere earlier, but moved to her current locality after her husband’s death. She works as a maid and has poor eyesight.
The issue has triggered a political firestorm in the state, with both ruling and opposition parties engaged in a blame game.
“This is what I-PAC is doing, putting people’s names in every other assembly constituency for votes. There are several false voters for whom they have the data; others have voted on their behalf, which was not checked. When the SIR started, they (TMC) opposed the exercise as they wanted to steal votes. This is the real game,” said BJP leader Jitendra Tiwari.
The TMC, meanwhile, rejected the allegations and held the Election Commission responsible for the lapse.
“This is a serious matter, and Maya’s case should be looked into. How does her name appear in 44 voter lists? Who did this and how? These are the weaknesses of the EC. How will the EC find out how her name appeared in 44 different lists?," said TMC MP Kirti Azad.
He also alleged that there has been huge pressure on the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) working for the SIR drive.
