West Bengal elections are not legally valid: Former Chief Election Commissioner

Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has made a serious allegation that the elections held in West Bengal are not legally valid. Addressing as the keynote speaker during the Hasim Abdul Halim Memorial Lecture in Kolkata, he stated that he doubts whether the West Bengal elections were legally correct. Emphasizing this matter, he said that he has expressed this many times before and now the matter is in the Supreme Court, so he hopes the court will take an appropriate decision.

Quraishi further added that while some parts of the election might be valid, there should be a re-investigation where there is suspicion that a majority of Muslim voters were removed, and if necessary, a re-poll should be conducted. He clarified that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) himself is not the entire Election Commission. According to the rules, decisions should be taken by consensus, and if that is not possible, decisions should be made based on a majority among the three members of the Election Commission. He stated that the decisions of the CEC alone cannot be final.

This controversy has surfaced following a report by 'The Indian Express' stating that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times against various unilateral decisions taken by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Quraishi clarified that the election process was neither simple nor transparent. He also raised questions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and alleged that this process was used to conduct secret investigations into citizenship.

Speaking on voters' rights, Quraishi said that voters should not have to beg for their right to vote. In the past, there was a tradition where voter cards were delivered to every voter's home, and they did not need to negotiate to have their names included in the voter list. Currently, many questions have arisen regarding this matter which are pending in the Supreme Court. Quraishi expressed confidence that only after the court's verdict is delivered will it be clear where the error occurred and what was correct.

Reacting to these allegations made by Quraishi, Minister Dilip Ghosh said on Friday that this government has been in power for 6-7 months and the people are happy. He said that some people are raising questions because perhaps they did not get the result they desired. Warning, he said that accepting the people's verdict and the chosen government is the right decision, otherwise, the path ahead for those who oppose will be very difficult.

S.Y. Quraishi has served as the former Chief Election Commissioner. He had worked on the administrative and legal aspects of the Election Commission of India.