'Submitted Documents But...': Anger, Worry After Bengal SIR Cuts 90 Lakh Voters

Nadia Mondal, a homemaker from West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, is angry because her name has been struck off the electoral roll days before the ruling Trinamool Congress and rivals Bharatiya Janata Party face-off in a critical Assembly election.

"I am a resident of Duttapukur… married 27 years ago and have been living here since. I submitted my Aadhaar and all the necessary documents during the hearing but now I find my name in the list (of deleted voters)," she told NDTV.

Mondal isn't the only one. Bagbul Mallik, a small-business owner from Deganga village, 21km away, said he too had submitted all the documents, but nonetheless was removed. Surprisingly, his family remains on the roll.

"Many voters in my village have also been removed from the list and we are expecting that this time we won't be able to cast our votes," he said.

Late Monday the Election Commission released a 12th and final supplementary list with names of voters restored to the electoral roll after successfully challenging their deletion.

But a total of 60.06 lakh voters had been struck off after revision of the list.

Of these 32.6 lakh have been cleared as valid voters while 27.1 have been deemed 'ineligible' and removed. They can appeal before tribunals set up under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court, though time is running out. The first phase of voting is scheduled for April 23.

90 lakh voters struck off Bengal list

Overall, an estimated 90.8 lakh men and women have been removed from Bengal's electoral roll after the Election Commission-ordered Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, exercise.

This is the second highest of any state so far; the highest was around 97 lakh names in Tamil Nadu, which will also hold an election this month.

Protests broke out in North 24 Parganas' Basirhat area Monday on this issue and last week seven judicial officers - ruling on appeals by deleted voters - were held hostage in Malda district, triggering a fresh squabble between the Trinamool, the BJP, and Election Commission.

RECAP | 7 Judicial Officers Held Hostage In Bengal For 9 Hours Over SIR Deletion

The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Bengal government for failing to protect the officers.

RECAP | "If State Machinery Fails...": Top Court On Threat To Bengal SIR Officers

On Tuesday NDTV visited Barasat, which also comes under the North 24 Parganas' area, and where there was a long queue in front of the office of the District Magistrate.

Similarly long queues have been seen outside adjudication centres in other districts on the Bengal-Bangladesh border, which has become a source of contention in this election campaign, with the BJP accusing the Trinamool of sheltering illegal immigrants in exchange for votes. The Trinamool has emphatically denied this claim.

Voters removed from the electoral roll speak to police as they file appeals.

Critics of the SIR, which includes the Trinamool and other opposition parties, as well as pro-democracy activists, have argued the SIR is meant to do just that - remove lakhs of people who might otherwise vote for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party.

The poll panel (and the BJP, which has been accused of colluding with the EC to engineer election wins, a charge it has vehemently denied) has said voter roll revision is a routine process to identify and remove ineligible or deceased voters.

Whatever the political (and legal) back-and-forth may be, on ground the reality is that the SIR exercise has upset from people who believe they have been wrongfully removed from the list.

Unhappy with politicians on all sides, Mondal told NDTV: "didi (as Mamata Banerjee is fondly called) and dada (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi) are responsible for our bad fate. didi is fighting for us… but it is a false fight. And who gave permission for SIR? I am running from pillar to post over the past four days."

4 districts hardest hit

Four districts with significant Muslim populations - Murshidabad (66 per cent), Malda (51 per cent), North 24 Parganas (26 per cent), and South 24 Parganas (36 per cent) account for approximately 30.4 lakh cases of voter roll adjudication.

Between them an estimated 12.2 lakh names have been removed from the voter list.

In the 2021 election the Trinamool won a majority of seats from these four districts - 20 of 22 in Murshidabad, eight of 12 from Malda, and 57 of 64 from North and South 24 Parganas.

The tally - 75 seats - were 35 per cent of all seats the party won.

Voting for this election will be held over two phases - 152 seats will vote on April 23 and 142 on April 29. Results will be declared on May 4.