She represented India on the world’s biggest stage. She won the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2025 as one of the team’s most important contributors. She received the Banga Bhushan — West Bengal’s highest civilian honour. She now serves her state as an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Siliguri. And yet, according to the final electoral roll published by the Election Commission of India on Saturday, Richa Ghosh’s right to vote in her own ward remains — officially, formally — “Under Adjudication.”

The irony has not been lost on anyone in Siliguri, or indeed, across Bengal. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter who made first a city, then a state, then a nation burst with pride is now caught in the middle of one of India’s most politically charged electoral disputes.

What “Under Adjudication” Actually Means

The Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process — conducted ahead of upcoming elections in West Bengal — classified voters in West Bengal’s electoral rolls into three categories: Approved (eligible voters confirmed), Deleted (names removed), and Under Adjudication (names pending judicial review).

As of the publication of the final SIR-revised electoral rolls on February 28, more than 60 lakh — six million — voters across West Bengal find themselves in the “Under Adjudication” category, meaning their voter eligibility remains under judicial review and they have not been formally confirmed as eligible voters.

Richa Ghosh, a lifelong resident of Ward No. 19 of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, is among them. So is her sister, Somashree Ghosh. The family had reportedly received a prior notice for a hearing under the SIR process; since Richa was away on cricketing duties, her father submitted all required documents to the authorities on her behalf. Despite this, the final list published Saturday marked both sisters as “Under Adjudication.”

TMC Cries Foul: “Silent Invisible Rigging”

The political temperature around the SIR process was already running high in West Bengal before Richa Ghosh’s name became the visible face of the controversy. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs West Bengal, has accused the Election Commission of conducting what it calls “silent invisible rigging” — systematically placing the names of Bengali voters under adjudication in what it alleges is a partisan process designed to disenfranchise voters sympathetic to the ruling party.

“The farce of @BJP4India and @ECISVEEP’s silent invisible rigging reaches new lows of absurdity,” TMC posted on X. The party has deliberately elevated Richa Ghosh’s case as its most high-profile example precisely because of her status as a national sporting icon.

TMC’s argument is pointed: if an internationally recognised Indian cricketer — awarded Banga Bhushan, appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police, lauded by every government in the country — can have her voter status placed under review, then the SIR process poses a threat to every ordinary Bengali voter whose circumstances allow less room for public scrutiny of any injustice done to them.

“When even celebrities and national icons can be arbitrarily targeted, questioned, and subjected to this degrading process, what hope for the common Bengali voter?” the party asked publicly.

Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb was equally direct: “The Election Commission is working in the interest of only one political party.”

Critically, Richa Ghosh is not alone among prominent names affected. West Bengal minister Md Ghulam Rabbani and several TMC MLAs have also reportedly been placed under the same “adjudication” category in the revised rolls, further intensifying the party’s allegation that the process is targeted rather than procedural.

The Election Commission Has Not Responded

As of Sunday evening, the Election Commission of India had not issued a formal public statement addressing the specific cases of Richa Ghosh or the TMC ministers and MLAs placed under adjudication. The ECI has maintained that the SIR process is a judicial and administrative exercise to ensure accuracy and eligibility in electoral rolls, and that all “Under Adjudication” cases are being processed through proper legal channels.

Crucially, being “Under Adjudication” does not mean a voter has been deleted or declared ineligible — it means the case is still being evaluated by a Judicial Officer before a final determination is made. However, the practical concern among activists and political observers is that if these adjudications are not resolved before elections are announced, millions of voters — including potentially Richa Ghosh herself — could find themselves unable to exercise their franchise through a process they had no meaningful control over.

Richa Ghosh: A Siliguri Icon

For those less familiar with her story, Richa Ghosh is among the most celebrated products of north Bengal’s cricketing ecosystem. Born and raised in Siliguri, she made her India debut as a teenager in 2020 and swiftly established herself as one of the most destructive wicketkeeper-batters in women’s cricket globally — capable of launching power hitting that few players of any gender can match at the death overs.

Her contribution to India’s 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup triumph — held in Sri Lanka — was a defining chapter of that tournament. Her presence behind the stumps and explosive middle-order batting under pressure proved the difference in multiple games, and she returned home to a hero’s welcome across Bengal.

The West Bengal government’s recognition was swift and substantial. She was awarded the prestigious Banga Bhushan, inducted into the West Bengal Police at the rank of Deputy Superintendent, and is currently serving as Assistant Commissioner of Police in the Siliguri Police Commissionerate — a role that places her among the most recognisable public servants in north Bengal.

Ward No. 19 councillor Moushumi Hazra, from the Left Front, visited Richa’s home after the news broke. “It’s shameful. Richa, who has made the whole of India shine, has to go through this. Then think about the condition of the common people,” she said — a sentiment that cut across political lines and captured why this particular case has resonated so far beyond Siliguri.

Cricket and Citizenship: An Uncomfortable Question

The deeper discomfort underlying this controversy is a question that nobody in the political mainstream wants to answer plainly. Richa Ghosh has carried an Indian passport to every international cricket ground on the planet. She has worn the blue jersey. She has played the Indian national anthem from the dugout. She represented India at the highest level of the sport.

The suggestion — however procedural in origin — that her citizenship or voter eligibility requires “adjudication” before a judicial officer strikes many observers as a profound institutional failure, regardless of which party or process is ultimately responsible. For a region like Darjeeling and north Bengal, where questions of identity, language and belonging have historically carried enormous political charge, the optics of a World Cup heroine being placed in a voter eligibility grey zone carry weight that transcends a simple bureaucratic error.

Richa Ghosh’s father has indicated the family will follow up with the concerned officials for clarification. The documents have been submitted. The process, apparently, must take its course.