In a last-minute reprieve, the publication of the appellate tribunal's supplementary list on Wednesday brought relief to some of the 139 lucky voters in West Bengal who had lost hope of casting their ballots. These voters finally got their index fingers inked after their names were restored.
Stories from the Ground
Ainul Miah, a 30-year-old from Cooch Behar, was able to vote at a booth under the Sitalkuchi assembly constituency. Although Ainul's name was included, his sister could not vote as her case remains unresolved. Ainul said, 'We are six siblings. For that reason, my sister and I were called for a hearing, where we both submitted all valid documents, including the house deed, but no approval was granted. Today I am happy that I could finally vote, but my sister, who is also an eligible voter, could not cast her vote.'
Ainul went to the booth in the second half of the day to cast his vote. He added, 'As an eligible voter, this is my fundamental right, which I lost under the category of logical discrepancy, where I had no specific role. It is a great relief for me, but I am still concerned for my sister, while my other siblings and my father voted as their names are in the final roll.'
Hakim Miya and Parvina Bibi, a couple also from Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, cast their votes in the first half of the day. Similarly, SK Kismat and SK Kurban, twin brothers whose names had been deleted, had their names restored after the appellate tribunal's supplementary list was released. Five out of seven members of their family had their names deleted initially. All five brothers' names had been removed, but three of them were later included. Kismat and Kurban appealed before the tribunal for inclusion, and 24 hours before the first phase of polling, both names were restored.
Kismat said, 'We both went together to celebrate this hard-earned victory. We had submitted all valid proof at the time of the hearing, but none was accepted and all our names were deleted. We never thought that we would be able to vote this time. However, it is a relief for us that we could participate in the process.'
Dhananjay Sardar, 30, who lives in a small village in Murshidabad and whose name was included on Wednesday, expressed relief after casting his vote. He said, 'I was concerned even after my name was included, but everything went smoothly.'
Not All Got Lucky
Biplab Majumder, a teacher from Malda, was not as fortunate. Even after his name was included, he could not cast his vote as he was assigned poll duty at Karandighi in Uttar Dinajpur. He also missed the postal ballot voting scheduled on April 14, as at that time his voting right was still under question.
