Phulbari, April 21: Imagine a household so big that it has a total of 176 voters and another household in the same village apparently has two different communities living under the same roof. Now imagine another household, which in 2005 showed a total of only 4 voters but in just two decades, the same household showed an incredible population growth of over 4000% to reach 84!
If you think the above three statements are just imagination and far-fetched to be real – think again. These are cases that were recently discovered by members of the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) – Phulbari regional unit during a review of the electoral rolls within the constituency.
“We have always felt things were wrong in terms of the increasing number of voters that kept increasing at incredible rates. We decided to look into the voter list of 2025 and what we found was shocking to say the least,” said unit president, Chuang Neyzer R Marak on the development.
The above three sample cases were found in the village of Kalapani under the Chibinang area under the Phulbari constituency and the Union believed a deeper scrutiny of the list available would provide even more such flabbergasting cases.
In the first case of 176 voters for a single household, the Union stated that the corresponding number in 2005 was only 14.
“By just the number of voters once can determine that the entire household including children should easily surpass 250 at least. What is even more interesting is that most of those registered as voters are between a similar age group (30 -50) so it is impossible that their parents would be the same,” felt Marak.
If their parents were not the same and they are living on rent – how exactly did they get their voter IDs registered in Meghalaya – they asked while also adding that of the parents of these voters were the same, the father – mother duo should possibly be around 250 years of age or the children would have to be adopted from around the country and beyond.
“If these voters are genuine how were they not listed in the rolls in 2005 but suddenly found themselves on the list in 2025 despite their ages already being eligible even in 2005. In the 4 to 84 case, the situation is even more blatant. How can a couple produce 80 children in just 20 years and most of them are already of voting age and beyond. Some are even more aged than the parents themselves. Is that even possible,” asked Chuang?
The brightest case to show shadiness in the creation of a false election IDs, as per the CSO, is the case of two fundamentally opposed communities supposedly living under the same roof.
“Never in history have we witnessed such a miracle where people from two opposing belief actually live under the same roof and eat from the same kitchen. It can only happen here and that can only be due to the largess of the state’s election department,” felt the GSU president.
The above three cases have put the spotlight directly above the election department – which is in charge of handing voter registration. The anomalies, felt the GSU, should have been noticed by those providing election IDs after verification as it was just too stark to miss out. However, whether deliberate or otherwise, the same was missed and now the only thing that can be done is to hold those responsible – accountable to it.
“You can’t just brush off these kind of cases under the carpet. These are live cases of influx at our doorstep and those in authority completely missing their lines. Whether it was done for money or for the sake of humanity, we don’t care. A serious review of these kinds of voters needs to be undertaken right away,” felt the GSU.
Influx has been one of the major issues plaguing the plain belt of Garo Hills with red flags being raised by local as well as senior regional leaders on the matter. The matter, most feel, is mainly due to the neglect shown by officials meant to check such activities which allow those coming outside the state (Assam or Bangladesh) getting an easy foothold. With the state looking to review its election data through the Special Intensive Review (SIR) things may just get a little difficult for migrants to get a foothold but given the history of electoral reviews in the state and country – one cannot really be too optimistic.
