Tribunal restores Congress candidate to Bengal voter roll
A relieved Sheikh said justice prevailed, his name cleared and restored, allowing him to move forward confidently with filing his nomination.
Kolkata Victory: Congress’s Mohtab Sheikh Cleared to Run After Voter List Nightmare
Kolkata: Picture the gut punch—your name erased from the voter roll, nomination deadline looming, dreams of representing your people dangling by a thread. That’s Mohtab Sheikh’s ordeal, the Congress candidate from Farakka in Murshidabad. But on Sunday evening, April 5, joy erupted: a tribunal reinstated his name, letting him file papers just in time. “Justice has finally been delivered!” a beaming Sheikh told reporters, voice thick with relief. “My name’s cleared—I can fight for Farakka now.”
This landmark win, the first tribunal ruling for a candidate snagged by “logical discrepancy” in voter data, feels like a shot in the arm for democracy. Headed by former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, the panel at Salt Lake’s Bijon Bhavan scrutinized Sheikh’s case amid the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) chaos.
It started February 28, when the final electoral roll dropped—lakhs marked “under adjudication” for nitpicky mismatches like dad’s name spelling or middle initials. Sheikh’s got zapped too, blocking his nomination despite party backing. “I was officially nominated, but couldn’t file,” he shared, frustration raw. “Felt like my citizen rights were stolen.”
Sheikh fought back, a one-man battle through courts. Calcutta High Court bounced him—SIR cases are Supreme Court turf. Undeterred, he petitioned the apex court, which fast-tracked it and greenlit the tribunal. Armed with Aadhaar, passport, driving license, and his kid’s birth certificate—all matching his name—he argued: “Dad’s details glitched? Fine, but that’s not me.”
The tribunal agreed. “Data inconsistency in father’s info doesn’t justify excluding the voter,” they ruled, ordering reinstatement in the supplementary roll by Sunday night. First-phase polls near, nominations due April 6—perfect timing. An EC official hailed it as groundbreaking: tribunals, born from Supreme Court orders, are phasing through millions of cases, restoring voices one by one.
For Sheikh, 40-something local leader from Murshidabad’s riverine heartland, it’s personal. Farakka’s folks—fisherfolk, farmers—pinned hopes on him against TMC heavyweights. “Vindicated,” he grinned. “Judiciary stood for the little guy.” Families cheered; supporters thronged. In Bengal’s cutthroat polls, where every vote counts, this breathes life into his campaign.
It’s bigger than one man. SIR snafus exposed EC glitches—millions at risk, especially migrants, minorities. Supreme Court stepped in, mandating judicial fixes. Sheikh’s saga spotlights the human side: a dad’s mismatched name nearly derailing democracy. Now, with name restored, he’s rallying—door-to-door, chai stall chats—ready to contest.
Opposition cries foul on EC processes; allies see vindication. As Bengal buzzes toward polls, Sheikh’s tale inspires: fight the system, win your voice back. “Grateful to the tribunal, SC, and my team,” he said. Farakka watches—will this underdog splash?