The voter list revision exercise in Bengal has knocked out 91 lakh people from the electoral rolls, indicates data from the Election Commission. Following the completion of the SIR process, the total number of voters has now dropped from 766 lakh to 677 lakh.
The data, submitted to the Supreme Court yesterday, also includes voters whose adjudication process is still on. But with the last date for filing of Phase 1 nominations ending at midnight -- after which no change in the list is allowed -- many of them will not be eligible to vote. The last date of filing of nomination for the second phase is April 2.
The outcome has dismayed the state's ruling Trinamool Congress, which won the 2021 assembly election with a margin of 42.4 lakh votes. In Kolkata, the prevailing concern within the party is how to recover the votes that have been struck off the rolls.
The poll panel is yet to announce the final figures after the roll revision process.
Numbers Game
According to the preliminary data released on February 28, the Special Intensive Revision -- which started in November -- saw the removal of 63.6 lakh names, accounting for 8.3 per cent of the entire voter list. It pushed down the total number of voters from 76.6 million to 70.4 million.
Of these, 60.06 lakh names were kept under review. This was done to address discrepancies in names - such as variations like 'Chattopadhyay' versus 'Chatterjee,' or 'Bandopadhyay' versus 'Banerjee'.
Following a verification process, 35 lakh of these names were reinstated in the electoral list, while around 25 lakh names were permanently deleted.
The highest number of deletions occurred in the Trinamool bastions and Muslim majority district of Murshidabad. Besides, there are North 24 Parganas and Malda.
Over 455,000 names were removed from the list in Murshidabad, 325,000 from North 24 Parganas, and more than 239,000 from Malda.
More than 28,000 voters in south Kolkata - part of Mamata Banerjee's bastion Bhabanipore - have been deleted. The figure is more than 36 per cent of the numbers sent for adjudication.
"Grave Issue" Says Mamata Banerjee
Speaking at an election rally in Nadia, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the names of "individuals belonging to specific communities had been deliberately removed from the final electoral list". She also claimed that in districts with significant minority population such as Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpur, names were "picked and removed like lice" from the electoral rolls.
"Why this discrimination? You are excluding Matuas, Rajbanshis and minorities. Do you think that people do not understand this?" the Chief Minister said.
Terming this a "grave issue", Banerjee said such actions constitute a violation of democratic rights.
Her Trinamool Congress, she added, stands in solidarity with all such individuals and vowed to take the legal route to ensure that the affected people get justice.
"This election is to avenge the deletion of names from the voter list," Banerjee said. The Trinamool had had won 215 seats in the 294-member assembly in 2021.
The Midnight Freeze
Little, though, can be done about restoring deleted names in this election. Cases currently pending before the tribunals can only be added to the voter list for the next election cycle.
Under the rules, the voter list is frozen once the last date for filing of nominations is over.
The situation has left the Trinamool shaken and somewhat apprehensive. Speaking to NDTV, party minister Shashi Panja said it is inappropriate to leave the entire responsibility of voter enrolment solely on tribunals.
"The Election Commission must not shirk its responsibilities," Panja said. "The fact that the names of over 6 million people have been struck off is a staggering figure; now that the entire matter has been handed over to judicial officers, how is this process expected to be completed effectively?" she said.
"A vast number of people are being excluded, and time has run out. With the commencement of nominations for the first phase on Monday, the voter list for the first phase has effectively been frozen. How will those who have been left out have their grievances heard, and how will they find their way onto the electoral rolls?" she added.
Road Ahead For Trinamool
The critical question now is what strategy the Trinamool Congress will adopt.
Sources in the party said their immediate challenge is to bring voters whose relatives have been struck off the list to polling booths. In many households, while two or four names may be missing from the list, the names of the remaining family members are still present.
The party believes that if this can be achieved, they can still win the election albeit with a narrower margin.
The party is also certain that half its battle is won as long as the women voters don't waver in their support to Mamata Banerjee.
