Kolkata, Oct 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) The ECI on Friday rebutted claims made by Trinamool Congress general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, that in a particular booth for the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll, the winning BJP candidate, Sakharav Sarkar, received more votes than the total number of registered voters at that booth.
Earlier in the day, Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, claimed that at Booth No. 109 in Rejinagar, the BJP candidate secured 909 votes. However, the total number of registered voters at the booth was 772.
"Even North Korea would struggle to explain this electoral arithmetic! Mr Gyanesh Kumar, how does a booth produce more votes for one party than its entire electorate?" Abhishek Banerjee said in a social media post.
Hours later, Murshidabad's District Election Officer (DEO) and District Magistrate (DM) issued a counter social media post, rejecting the claim.
"As per the electoral roll for Polling Station No. 109 in the 70-Rejinagar Assembly Constituency by-election, the total number of registered electors is 1,109, of which 972 votes were polled across all candidates," the DEO and DM stated.
On Friday, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, also rebutted claims made by a social media user identified as "DeKoder" regarding the impact of voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year.
Sharing a video featuring a veteran journalist and former editor, the social media user raised questions about certain categories of voters allegedly being targeted during the SIR exercise and its consequences.
"Does the analysis of Bengal elections suggest any lessons for the forthcoming state elections?" the user asked.
In response, the CEO's office said the SIR exercise, conducted under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with due process and safeguards, was aimed at protecting the integrity of the electoral rolls and not at deleting genuine voters.
"The claims made in the video are misleading and speculative. No voter can be deleted without due process. Issuance of notice, an opportunity for hearing, and a speaking order by the ERO are part of the safeguards. Appeals are available at two levels," the CEO's office said in its social media post.
The CEO's office also said that electoral data from West Bengal did not support the political narrative being advanced on the issue.
According to the office, in four of the five constituencies where voter deletions were the highest, Trinamool Congress candidates emerged victorious. These constituencies were Samserganj, Chowrangee, Metiaburuz and Kolkata Port. Only Jorasanko, among the five constituencies with the highest deletions, was won by a BJP candidate.
"The five constituencies with the fewest deletions, namely Mahishadal, Bhagabanpur, Indus, Katulpur and Patashpur, were all won by the BJP. There is no data based on the religious identity of electors available with the ECI. Hence, the analysis is based on unverified assumptions," the CEO's office stated.
The office also rejected claims in the video that women voters accounted for 62 per cent of exclusions in West Bengal.
"As per the total data on deletion of invalid entries (excluding adjudication), around 50 per cent, or half, of the deletions relate to women. Therefore, the facts do not support the allegations. SIR is a lawful, transparent and ongoing exercise to ensure that every eligible elector is on the roll and that ineligible entries are removed. Electoral rolls must be based on facts, not speculation," the statement added.
Source: IANS
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