Congress candidate's name restored to voter rolls in Bengal; can nominate self now

Mohtab Sheikh, the 2026 election candidate the Congress picked for West Bengal’s Farakka constituency, who recently expressed angst after his name was put under the adjudication cases category of the final electoral roll in February, looked relieved on Sunday (April 5) after a tribunal sought his reinstatement.

Speaking with the media in Kolkata, Sheikh said justice was eventually delivered.

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“My name has been cleared and restored, and I can now proceed with filing my nomination,” he said. Farakka is a constituency in Bengal’s Muslim-majority Murshidabad district, which will be key this election, thanks to some minority-centric parties gaining prominence.

First of its kind case

This ruling is reportedly the first of its kind by any tribunal concerning a candidate aimed at addressing an ongoing adjudication case due to a “logical discrepancy”, according to an official from the Election Commission (EC).

In the significant development, the tribunal headed by the former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, T S Sivagnanam, directed that the name of the Congress nominee be restored to the voter list.

Sheikh said, “My name had been struck off during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, preventing me from filing nomination despite being officially nominated by my party. Now I feel vindicated that the judiciary has restored my right as a citizen of the country.”

This is the first verdict involving a poll candidate delivered by any SIR appellate tribunal that was constituted to adjudicate cases involving logical discrepancies in voter data, mostly due to a mismatch with the father's name, spelling or middle name, etc., the official said.

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The EC had published the final electoral roll on February 28, with lakhs of voters marked as “under adjudication.”

Acting on directions from the Supreme Court of India, judicial officials began verifying and resolving these cases in phases. The apex court had also allowed affected individuals to approach designated tribunals if their names were excluded.

Sheikh, whose name was missing from the rolls, initially faced hurdles as the tribunals had not begun functioning.

“This prevented me from filing nomination papers. I subsequently moved to the Supreme Court, which directed expeditious disposal of his plea and allowed me to approach a tribunal led by a former high court judge. I am relieved now,” he said.

Congress candidate submits documents

At the tribunal in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, Sheikh had submitted multiple identity documents, including Aadhaar, passport, driving licence, and his child’s birth certificate, all bearing his name.

His counsel argued that the discrepancy cited by authorities related to his father’s name and did not affect his own identity.

Accepting this argument, the tribunal observed that while there may have been a “data inconsistency” in his father’s details, there was no valid ground to exclude him from the voter list. It directed that his name be reinstated in the supplementary roll on Sunday night.

Earlier, Sheikh had approached the Calcutta High Court, which declined to hear the matter, noting that all SIR-related cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

With the first phase of polling in Farakka approaching and the last date for filing nominations set for April 6, the tribunal’s order clears the way for Sheikh to contest the election.

Farakka sitting MLA resented denial of ticket

The development will also turn the focus on Manirul Islam, the dissenting sitting Trinamool Congress MLA from Farakka, who has not been renominated by his party this time. He joined the Congress in protest and sought to contest on a ticket from that party. But with Shaikh back into the fray, it is to be seen what Islam does, since he also did not rule out contesting as an independent.

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Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (April 4) indirectly warned Islam at an election rally in Samsherganj, near Farakka, against contesting separately, saying if he did not change his stance, he would be suspended.

(With agency inputs)