Malda: General Secretary and spokesperson of the Malda District Trinamool Congress (TMC) Ashish Kundu along with his wife, Ward Councillor Nibedita Kundu, claimed to have uncovered a case of voter fraud in Ward No. 18 of English Bazar Municipality, where individuals from Bihar have allegedly been registered as voters.
During a voter verification drive, names such as Aditya Kumar Choudhury and Tripura Kumari Choudhury were found in the local voter list. However, a cross-check with the voter helpline revealed that their names also exist in Bihar’s voter list, they said.
A door-to-door investigation by TMC leaders found “no trace of these individuals at the listed addresses”, raising concerns about fake voter registration. The Trinamool leaders accused the BJP of “illegally adding fake voters to manipulate election outcomes”. “Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directive, we surveyed the ward and found several names linked to Bihar. The houses listed against these names had no such residents. BJP is enlisting fake voters to gain unlawful electoral advantages,” said Ashish Kundu. However, BJP leader Amlan Bhaduri dismissed these claims, calling them a “TMC circus”.
He countered: “If these voters are enlisted, they must have received residential certificates from the Ward Councillor. The TMC should investigate that first. Additionally, they are ignoring minority-populated areas where fake voters have allegedly been registered with state government support.”
The controversy has triggered heated political debates in Malda, raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process.