Amid the row over alleged irregularities in the voter lists of West Bengal, a person who was active in the students’ protest in Bangladesh in 2024, was found to be a registered voter in the State’s Kakdwip Assembly segment.
While several photographs of the youth, Newton Das, participating in the movement that brought regime change in the neighbouring country last year are available on social media, Mr. Das himself said he is a citizen of India. However, he did not deny that he was actively involved in the protests in Bangladesh.
“I went to Bangladesh in 2024 for issues related to an ancestral property and got caught in the revolution. I have been a voter in Kakdwip since 2014 but lost my voter card in 2017. In 2018, I got a fresh voter card with the help of local MLA Manturam Pakhira,” Mr. Das said in a video message.
Mr. Das confirmed that he had voted for Trinamool Congress’s Kakdwip MLA Manturam Pakhira in the 2016 Assembly election, but failed to specify if he is currently in India or Bangladesh.
Tapan Das, one of Mr. Das’s cousins, said that his “brother was born in Bangladesh and exercises voting rights in both the countries”. However, his account differed from Mr. Das’s.
