Speculations over ‘shifted voters’ walking the ramp at Birbhum rally

Speculation is rife over who will walk the ramp at Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee’s much-hyped rally in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, on 6 January.

At his last rally in Baruipur, three ‘ghosts’ – voters listed as deceased in the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) rolls – were made to walk the ramp, drawing wide attention.

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Party sources suggest that something similar may be witnessed at the Rampurhat rally, with grassroots TMC workers and supporters playing a central role.

The development comes amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls by the ECI, even as the battle for the state secretariat, Nabanna, is less than four months away.

Trinamul national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has begun district-wise election campaigning and is scheduled to address a public meeting at the Binodpur ground in the Rampurhat Assembly segment on Tuesday. On Friday, he addressed a rally in Baruipur, South 24-Parganas, where three deceased voters, according to the electoral rolls, were symbolically brought onto the ramp.

According to Trinamul sources, a stage identical to the one used in Baruipur is being set up at Rampurhat. The main stage will have leadership seating on both the right and left, with a plus-shaped ramp connected to it. The central ramp will extend 200 feet straight from the main stage, with 150 feet-long extensions on either side.

Seating arrangements for attendees are being divided into multiple zones.

TMC Birbhum district core committee chairperson Ashish Banerjee said that while there are no cases in the district where living voters have been shown as dead, there are several instances of voters being marked as ‘shifted’ or ‘missing’ despite having lived in the area for a long time.

“I will bring them and make them sit separately. If Abhishek Banerjee wants, he can walk with them on the ramp,” he said.

Zilla parishad president Kajal Sheikh inspected the preparations at the venue. He was accompanied by Dr Ashish Banerjee, Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly; Chandranath Sinha, state minister; Anubrata Mondal, convener of the TMC district committee and others.

Dr Banerjee said there are high expectations among the public regarding the rally. “The meeting will begin at noon, and efforts are being made to ensure that the ground is fully occupied by 11 a.m,” he said.

There is also a possibility that Abhishek Banerjee may offer prayers at the Tarapith Temple after arriving in Rampurhat.