West Bengal MLA Motab Shaikh Restored to Voter List by Supreme Court

West Bengal: Motab Shaikh, an MLA from the Farakka assembly seat, was wrongly removed from the voter list after being declared Bangladeshi by Dnyanesh Kumar, a Commissioner of the Central Election Commission. After a prolonged legal battle involving BLO, SDM, Collector, and the High Court, Motab Shaikh presented evidence of his Indian citizenship and took the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court reprimanded the Election Commission and ordered his name to be immediately reinstated in the voter list.

Motab Shaikh later claimed a ticket from the Congress party and won the election with 8,193 votes. The case raises broader concerns about the exclusion of 9.1 million voters in West Bengal, including many declared Bangladeshi or infiltrators and removed from electoral rolls, depriving them of democratic voting rights. Currently, appeals of approximately 2.7 million voters remain pending before the Supreme Court for review.