Some people in the “Lucky 139” have the right to vote, but many of their relatives do not

KOLKATA: In a last-minute relief after the appeal court supplementary list was announced on Wednesday, some of the 139 lucky voters who had lost hope finally got tattoos on their index fingers.Ainul Miah (30) from Cooch Behar was able to cast his vote at a booth under Sitalkuchi assembly constituency. “My sister and I submitted all the documents, including the deed to the house, but our names were removed. I’m happy that I can finally vote,” he said.But the relatives of many of the lucky ones did not exercise their franchise. Ainur’s sister’s case remains unresolved. “My other siblings and my dad voted because their names were on the final list, but I’m still worried about my sister,” he said. Ainul added: “This is my fundamental right, but I lost this right in a logical inconsistency because I played no role in it.After the Court of Appeal’s supplementary list was published, the names of twin brothers Sk Kismat and Sk Kurban also appeared on the list.They are a family of seven, and the names of five brothers have been removed. Three of these were later restored to the roll. Relief for Kismat and Kurban comes 24 hours before the first phase of voting.Kismat said, “We celebrate this hard-won victory together. We submitted valid evidence at the hearing, but our names were removed. We did not expect that we would be able to vote this time. We are relieved that we can participate in the voting process.”Dhananjay Sardar (30), a resident of a small village in Murshidabad, had his name included in the electoral roll on Wednesday. He was relieved after the vote, saying: “Even though I was worried after my name came up, it went well.”Biplab Majumder, a teacher from Malda, was not so lucky. Even if his name is on the list, he cannot vote as he has been allocated polling station in Kalandijpur, Dinajpur, Uttar Pradesh.Majumder also missed the postal vote on April 14 as his right to vote was still in question at that time.