The Election Commission of India has issued notices to 370 voters from the Jatgaria area of Kanksha in West Burdwan during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, sparking a major political controversy in the region.
All 370 voters have been casting their ballots at Booth No. 13 in Jatgaria, under the Galsi Assembly segment for several years. According to local residents, the booth has a total of 1,260 registered voters, of whom 370 have been summoned for hearings over alleged discrepancies in documents, including variations in parental names.
“We have been asked to appear for a hearing at a booth nearly 30 kilometres away. Our names have been on the electoral rolls since 2002, yet we have still been called,” said Monirul Islam, one of the affected voters.
State panchayat minister Pradip Majumdar alleged that the BJP was unnecessarily harassing voters and claimed that the party would receive an appropriate response when election results are announced.
In contrast, Durgapur West MLA and BJP leader Lakshman Ghorui stated that no genuine voter would have their name deleted. He maintained that only those with fake entries or invalid documents would be removed, and urged genuine voters not to worry.
So far, there has been no official statement from the West Burdwan district electoral department or the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer. However, the summoning of such a large number of voters from a single booth has intensified political tensions in the area.
Meanwhile, former BJP district president Dilip Ghosh, during a visit to Kanksha on Tuesday, urged the Election Commission of India to extend the deadline for the ongoing SIR hearing process. He was in the area to inaugurate a new BJP gate.