The process of SIR is going on in West Bengal, but the figures revealed during this have shocked everyone from the Election Commission to the political parties. Such a miracle came to light that even science would feel embarrassed. It was claimed that not a single person died in the last 20 years at 2,208 booths in the state! But as soon as the Election Commission turned a blind eye to this claim of ‘immortality’ and asked for a detailed report, within just 24 hours this lie fell apart like a house of cards.
The Election Commission is conducting ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) to purify the voter list. Its purpose is to remove the names of dead and shifted voters from the list. But during this time the first surprising figure came. Local election officials report that there are 2,208 polling booths in the state where not a single voter has died in the last 20 years. Seen directly, this seems impossible. As soon as the Election Commission saw these figures, it looked black. The Commission immediately called for a detailed report and asked how this was possible? The BJP has written to the Election Commission seeking its immediate intervention in the second phase of SIR in West Bengal, alleging that attempts are being made to influence and manipulate the process.
U-turn in 24 hours
After the commission’s rebuke, when the show or actual work of re-verification was done, the revised figures exposed the truth. Officials admitted that there were only 29 booths (probably very small or new), not 2,208, where deaths were not recorded. The question is, what were the ‘dead people’ doing in the voter list for 20 years at the remaining 2,179 booths?
South 24 Parganas: Epicenter of ‘fraud’?
In this entire episode, South 24 Parganas district is the most questionable. According to sources, the booths with maximum number of ‘Amar Voters’ were shown in this district. Among the initial suspicious figures (before revision) that came out, the situation in these areas was the most shocking:
Raidighi: Booth 66 (where no death was shown for 20 years)
Kulpi: 58 booth
plateau statue: 20 booths
Magrahat: 15 booths
These figures meant that thousands of such names were present in the voter list in these areas, which probably do not exist in the real world.
BJP’s claim: Conspiracy to win elections with ‘ghost voters’
After this revelation, BJP has become an attacker on Mamata Banerjee government and local administration. BJP alleges that this is not an administrative mistake but a well-planned conspiracy. BJP says that the names of the dead people are not removed deliberately so that fake votes can be cast in their names on the election day. BJP leaders’ question is that until the Commission took action, how were the local officials sending ‘zero death’ reports to 2,208 booths?
Challenge before the commission
The figure of 2,208 to 29 in just 24 hours proves that there was gross negligence or deliberate irregularities in the work of revising the voter list. Now the challenge before the Election Commission is to ensure that the names of dead people have actually been removed from the revised list or it is just a juggling of figures. This matter raises serious questions on the process of free and fair elections in Bengal.
