2 Ministers, Team India Cricketer "Under Adjudication" For Bengal Voter List

The Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in West Bengal is almost at an end after a rigorous four-month process, but the fates of many remain undecided. The final voters' list has over 63 lakh deletions - which comprises 9 per cent of the electorate and over 60 lakh voters (8.5 per cent) have been placed "under adjudication". This latter category contains two ministers of the state government, several MLAs of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the state's Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty.

State minister Ghulam Rabbani, who is under adjudication, said he has already contested the elections from the state four times and has served as a minister twice.  

Posting his part of the SIR final list, published Saturday, Rabbani - the minister of environment and Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources - in a post on X, said, "In an unprecedented ugly move by Election Commission in collision with their Delhi masters have moved my voter id 'under adjudication'".

"I have contested WB assembly elections in 2009, 2011, 2016 & 2021, served as minister in govt for two terms. My late father & ancestors were Indian Citizen & myself at age of 56 years have been regularly voting in WB since completing my education from AMU in early ''90s," he added.

Two-time Trinamool MLA from Jangipur, Zakir Hussain, who is also an industrialist from the area, claimed that his name is still "under adjudication" even though he provided all the necessary information during the hearing.  

If an MLA could be harassed thus, the Election Commission could harass common people even more easily.

"I am an Indian citizen, I have full faith on Indian judiciary," Hussain told reporters. 

"The Election Commission had assured the people of Bengal that no genuine voters would be deleted from the electoral roll. But as you can see it, they can harass someone like me they could do harassment other common people of Murshidabad. Be it Hindu or Muslim," he added.   

Trinamool has claimed there are other notable names in the adjudication category -- including cricketer Richa Ghosh, minister Shashi Panja and Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty.

"While my husband and daughter find their names in the list, my name has been stamped in the 'under adjudication' category," Shashi Panja was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. 
"After being a cabinet minister and an MLA for years, this action of the Election Commission seems baffling and insulting, not to me, but the people of Bengal and residents of my constituency," she added. 

In posts on X, Trinamool claimed that Richa Ghosh -- the 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Siliguri who was part of India's 2025 ICC Women's World Cup-winning squad -- was marked in the "under adjudication" category in the list published on Saturday.

"The farce of @BJP4India and @ECISVEEP's silent invisible rigging reaches new lows of absurdity. A World Cup-winning star like Richa Ghosh, Bengal's pride, India's hero', has now been placed 'under adjudication' in the final electoral rolls," the Trinamool said.

"She is forced to endure this humiliating scrutiny, her name flagged, her voter status questioned, her democratic right dangling by a thread in this voter purge," the statement said.

The Trinamool also alleged that five MLAs, including Rafiqur Rahaman, Toraf Hossain Mandal and Swati Khandoker are also under adjudication.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, speaking on the huge number of "under adjudication" electorate in Bengal, said: "Cases related to under adjudication will be scrutinized by judiciary. To ascertain if they are Indian citizen or not. Our stand is clear no illegal Bangladeshi Muslims would be allowed to stay here. Only Hindu refugees from Bangladesh will be permissible".