The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal has resulted in the deletion of more than 90 lakh names from the voters list, out of an initial electorate of 7.6 crore.
During the exercise, nearly 60 lakh cases under adjudication were reviewed by judicial officers. Of these, around 32.68 lakh were included in the list, while 27.16 lakh were found ineligible. Names of around 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were already removed from the final SIR list released on February 28. With the latest deletions, the total number of removed voters now stands at around 90.82 lakh, or 11.6% of the original electorate. The voter base has now been reduced from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
BLOs among those affected
Mohammad Shafiul Alam, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) from Bashirhat in North 24 Parganas, discovered that his name had been deleted after adjudication. The names of his parents and grandparents have been on the voters list since 1966. “My name was deleted even though I have all the documents. I work in government service in the higher education department. It seems I am being targeted,” Alam said.
Two of his brothers from the same constituency also found their names deleted, while their two sisters, living in another constituency, remain on the SIR list. All siblings had submitted the same ancestral details for progeny mapping with the 2002 SIR list.
Like other deleted voters, Alam has appealed online for inclusion. He is also helping others submit appeals and relevant documents. However, he and others in similar situations know they cannot vote in the current elections. “I am a BLO, on duty, and I don’t know about my future. I feel bad that my name has been deleted,” he said. Alam added that his workplace is six hours away, making it difficult to juggle official duties with SIR-related work.
Another BLO from Bashirhat, Sahanara Khatoon, who was also under adjudication, found her name deleted. “There is nothing wrong with my documents, and I was on the 2002 SIR list. Yet my name was deleted. I cannot understand this,” she said. The names of her other family members, however, are on the current SIR list, which has further baffled her.
Out of the cases under adjudication, the maximum deletions are found in Muslim minority-dominated districts of Murshidabad (4,45,137), North 24 Parganas (3,25,666), South 24 Parganas (2,22,929), and Malda (2,39,975).
“If they have been deleted and have to appeal to a tribunal with freezing of electoral rolls for the first phase, how will a genuine voter be included in the list?” asked TMC MP Sagarika Ghose. A TMC delegation has sought a meeting with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on how deletions have taken place in various constituencies.
'Daylight travesty of democracy'
“Elections are considered the core of India’s democratic journey. Despite many limitations, our ability to hold free and fair elections successfully ensures that despite social and communal conflict, there is a functioning democracy. But what is happening today with 27 lakh voters whose logical discrepancies are not settled by the Election Commission and judiciary, will not be able to vote in a democracy. Majority of them are minorities. This is daylight travesty of democracy. This is unprecedented,” said Professor Zaad Mahmood, political science department, Presidency University.
Government officials assisting with the SIR exercise fear losing their voting rights along with other affected voters, with no clear reasoning provided for the deletions. While some hope to participate in future elections, the uncertainty leaves many concerned about their democratic rights.
