Tension erupted at the Sub-Divisional Officer’s headquarters office in Hooghly district, West Bengal, on Monday when a group of Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers allegedly tore up Form-7 applications. These forms are crucial for removing deceased or ineligible voters from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Led by local TMC MLA Asit Mazumdar, the workers stormed into the premises amid hearings on claims and objections to the draft voter list. Eyewitnesses claim that in the legislator’s presence, party supporters ripped apart several Form-7 submissions aimed at deleting names due to deaths, duplications, or shifts.
Mazumdar denied witnessing any such destruction by his followers. Instead, he countered by accusing BJP workers of submitting fake Form-7s undemocratically on behalf of others. ‘How can we tolerate attempts to forcibly delete genuine voters’ names? This violates democratic rights,’ he asserted.
The confrontation quickly escalated into chaos, with TMC and BJP supporters clashing inside the SDO compound. Voters present complained that police stood idle, failing to intervene effectively. The incident highlights deepening political rifts ahead of elections, as both parties trade barbs over voter list manipulations.
BJP leaders, including district chief Suresh Saha, labeled the TMC protest as pre-planned collusion with parts of the district administration. They alleged TMC opposes genuine deletions to enable bogus voting through ghost entries. Central Minister Sukanta Majumdar had earlier claimed 1.26 lakh names were removed from Hooghly alone, questioning the source of such data.
As accusations fly, the episode underscores vulnerabilities in Bengal’s electoral process, raising concerns about transparency and fairness in voter roll revisions.