TMC Panchayat Chief accused of holding two voter cards in Nadia, EC acts

A case has come to light in Nadia district, where the name of a Panchayat Samiti Chief from the Trinamool Congress has been found in the voter lists of two different assembly constituencies. This revelation has put the Trinamool Congress on the back foot. It was also discovered that she casts votes in both constituencies. The person named in this case is Shefali Khatun, the Panchayat Samiti Chief of Kalyanganj. Her name was found in the voter lists of two assembly constituencies—Nakashipara and Kalyanganj—both located in Nadia district.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal. BJP has submitted documents, accusing that having voter cards in two different assembly constituencies in the name of a single person is proof of electoral malpractice. In a conversation with the media, Shefali Khatun said, “Earlier, I lived in Nakashipara, so my name was in the voter list there. Later, when we shifted to Debgram in Kalyanganj, my name was added to the voter list there. I was not aware that my name was still in the Nakashipara list.”

However, BJP has mocked Shefali Khatun’s clarification, calling it ridiculous for someone in a responsible position in the administration. Following the controversy, the Election Commission acted and removed Shefali Khatun’s name from the voter list of Nakashipara assembly constituency. Interestingly, just last week, at the extended organizational meeting of the Trinamool Congress, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of adding names of people from other states to the voter list of West Bengal.

She claimed that there were instances of two states having identical voter identity cards (EPIC numbers). Meanwhile, the leader of Mamata Banerjee’s own party having two voter cards in two assembly constituencies raises questions about her claims. On Sunday, the Election Commission responded to Mamata Banerjee’s allegations, issuing a statement. The Commission said that identical EPIC numbers do not necessarily indicate fake or duplicate voters. It clarified that such cases can arise due to identical alphanumeric series in different states or union territories. However, the Trinamool Congress criticized the Commission’s clarification as “an attempt to throw dust in people’s eyes” and claimed that it does not align with the Commission's own guidelines.