Silchar civic poll: Alleged voting by non-municipal voter triggers questions over verification

A viral social media video has triggered controversy during the first election to the Silchar Municipal Corporation, with questions being raised over how a resident allegedly belonging to a panchayat area was able to cast his vote in Ward 3 of the civic body.

According to allegations, Shahid Laskar, also known as ‘Moina’ and a resident of Dayapur in Udarbond, cast his vote at a polling station in Ward 3 of the Silchar Municipal Corporation on Saturday. It has further been alleged that Laskar recorded the voting process on his mobile phone and subsequently uploaded the video on social media.

The video later went viral, prompting reactions from various quarters and raising questions about the verification of voter credentials at the polling station. It is also being claimed that the video was subsequently deleted from Laskar’s Facebook account.

The controversy centres on the question of whether Laskar is a registered voter in a panchayat area and, if so, how he was allowed to vote in the Silchar Municipal Corporation election.

The allegations have also raised questions over the voter identification and verification process at the polling station, as well as the role of polling personnel in allowing the alleged voter to cast his ballot.

However, the allegations have not been independently verified, and it remains to be established whether Laskar is in fact registered as a voter outside the municipal corporation area and whether he cast his vote using valid electoral credentials.

Authorities are yet to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding the viral video and the alleged voting incident.