BJP using me as ‘item girl’ to gain political mileage during polls: Azam Khan

News Network

October 24, 2018

Lucknow, Oct 24: Firebrand Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan on Wednesday said that he was the ''item girl'' for the BJP and the saffron party often used his name to gain political mileage during the elections.

''BJP often uses my name during elections to polarise the voters.....I am like its item girl,'' Khan said while addressing a gathering of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh's Badayun district, about 300 kilometres from Lucknow.

He said that he expected the same thing in the next Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

Khan decried the saffron leaders for speaking on the Ram Temple issue despite the fact that the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. ''Everyone should wait for the verdict of the apex court,'' he added.

Khan, however, said that there were some forces, who did not want to wait for the apex court's verdict and construct the Ram Temple on the disputed land. ''These were the same forces, who had demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992,'' he added.

The SP leader also lashed out at BJP leaders for terming Muslims as the ''children'' of Babar, the first Mughal emperor. ''The Muslims, who chose to stay in the country after the partition in 1947, consider India as their motherland...it is not correct to doubt their integrity and patriotism,'' he said.

Khan said that there would be a grand alliance of the minorities, SCs and backwards in the next polls to counter the BJP.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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