Bag of voter cards found near NH-12 in Nadia before CM’s visit triggers BJP–TMC blame game

December 10, 2025

Kolkata: A bag containing hundreds of voter ID cards was discovered in a garbage dump near National Highway-12 in Santipur, Nadia district, on Wednesday morning — just a day before West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s scheduled visit.

This marks the second such recovery in the district within two weeks and has triggered concern among locals and political parties, especially as the Election Commission is currently conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list across the state.

Local residents first spotted the discarded bag and, upon finding voter IDs inside, alerted authorities. Police from Ranaghat district reached the spot and seized the documents, some reportedly bearing addresses from North 24 Parganas. Several other official papers were also found.

A senior police official confirmed the recovery and stated, “We are verifying whether these cards are original or counterfeit.”

Political Row Intensifies

The discovery has snowballed into a political flashpoint with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP trading accusations.

Tapan Sarkar, a Trinamool leader and member of the Santipur Panchayat Samiti, alleged a conspiracy:
“The Chief Minister will pass through the highway. Before her visit, these cards have been brought from outside and dumped here. This is clearly the BJP’s handiwork to embarrass Mamata Banerjee.”

Rejecting the accusation, the BJP blamed the ruling party instead, claiming the dumped cards were part of voter manipulation from previous elections.

“The area is controlled by TMC. These cards were used earlier. Now that the SIR process is underway and they are becoming useless, TMC has dumped them,” said Somnath Kar, BJP’s Ranaghat organisational district secretary.

Second Incident in 10 Days

On December 2, around 100 duplicate voter cards were found in a drain in Nabadwip, also in Nadia. Many residents reported that the recovered cards matched their details, even though their original IDs were still with them.

With the latest discovery, concerns over possible voter data misuse, card duplication, and electoral malpractice have only intensified.

Authorities are continuing the investigation.