TMC leaders meet locals after 500 names vanish from voter list

Cooch Behar: Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Partha Pratim Roy and Cooch Behar Municipality Chairman Rabindranath Ghosh visited Khapaidanga Gram Panchayat in the Cooch Behar North Assembly Constituency on Friday morning after nearly 500 names reportedly went missing from the voter list of booth number 303.

The leaders spoke to local residents and assured them of support after widespread concern over the omissions. According to residents, the 2002 voter list contained 717 names, but the latest revision shows only 140. Even the local Panchayat member and his family are not on the roll.

“The names of about 500 people are missing. Even my name and those of my family members have been removed,” said local Panchayat member Shayed Hussain. “People here are anxious. The leaders came and promised to stand by us.”

Roy alleged similar incidents have occurred in Phulbari Gram Panchayat under Mathabhanga Assembly and in Panchagarh. “Around 500 names have disappeared from this booth alone. Is it a clerical error or a deliberate act? BJP is attempting political manipulation before the Election Commission,” he claimed.

BJP district president Abhijit Barman dismissed the allegation, saying: “Trinamool Congress is only playing politics. If the details are correct and verified, no genuine voter’s name will be left out.”