Allegations of votes cast by others raise concerns during Assam polls

Guwahati, April 10: Allegations of voting irregularities took centre stage during the Assam Assembly elections, with Congress candidate from Dispur, Mira Borthakur, raising serious concerns over the integrity of the polling process and claiming that several genuine voters were deprived of their right to vote.

During a live session, Borthakur alleged that multiple voters across polling stations in her constituency found that votes had already been cast in their names before they arrived. She cited the case of a woman, Rupali Borah, who visited a polling booth at Srimantapur Prathmik Vidyalaya in Guwahati with her daughter.

While the daughter was able to vote, the mother was reportedly denied the opportunity as her vote had already been recorded.

Borthakur further alleged lapses in polling procedures, claiming that a presiding officer instructed polling agents not to properly verify voter identities.

“Polling officials must act as neutral public servants, not as representatives of any political party. People should be free to vote without pressure,” she said, adding that no prompt action was taken despite complaints being raised at the polling station.

A Congress polling agent also backed these claims, alleging that she was instructed to write “BJP Vidhan Sabha” instead of properly marking voter verification details. When she objected, she was reportedly told to proceed without following due process.

The issue was further compounded when the daughter of the affected voter approached election officials. According to her, the presiding officer dismissed their concerns, questioning their lack of trust and refusing to address the complaint despite repeated requests.

These allegations from Dispur come amid similar complaints emerging from different parts of the state, pointing to possible irregularities in the voting process.

Earlier, Assam-based content creator Nilakshi R. Sarma had flagged discrepancies in the electoral roll in Guwahati, alleging that multiple unknown individuals were registered as voters at her residential address.

In a video that went viral on April 8, she claimed that 12 unfamiliar names had been added to her residence in Ward No. 37.

Responding to the claims, the Kamrup (Metro) district administration clarified that several of the names were included in the electoral roll as far back as 2014 and that some individuals had already been traced and verified by Booth Level Officers as long-time residents of the area.

However, Sarma questioned the explanation, stating that she was unaware of several names linked to her address and maintained that the house had never had tenants.

On polling day, multiple voters from different districts also reported that their votes had already been cast by unknown individuals. In North Karimganj under Sribhumi district, a senior citizen was reportedly turned away after being told that her vote had already been recorded.

Her son-in-law, Ratnadeep Bhattacharjee, alleged, “There was no proper checking at the polling booth. Someone forged her signature and cast the vote. This is unacceptable.”

Similar allegations surfaced from Dimow, where a voter named Prashanta claimed that a vote had already been cast against his name, and from Dergaon, where another voter, Bhabani Kalita, reported a similar experience.

In another concerning instance, a voter alleged that a female voter’s name appeared against his EPIC number, with a vote already recorded.

These incidents have raised broader concerns over voter verification processes and polling-day management, even as Assam recorded a high voter turnout of over 85.64 per cent across 126 constituencies.