Urban Bengal sees biggest voter deletions in EC's SIR draft rolls

The Election Commission of India (EC) on December 16 released draft electoral rolls for West Bengal. It removed the names of about 5.8 million voters, 7.59 per cent of the state’s 76.6 million electors prior to the special intensive revision (SIR), on various grounds including death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms, according to officials. 

The data revealed that 2.46 million voters, or 3.15 per cent, were identified as deceased, while 3.26 million were found to have shifted residence or were absent. Another 138,000 voters (0.18 per cent) were enrolled at multiple locations. 

The highest proportion of deletions was recorded in urban centres, notably Kolkata South and Kolkata North, where 23.82 per cent and 25.92 per cent of voters, respectively, were removed. Nearby districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah also saw close to 10 per cent deletions. These five districts host large migrant populations. Darjeeling in North Bengal, which has emerged as a BJP stronghold in recent elections, registered deletions of 9.45 per cent. 

Community leaders say a significant number of deletions have affected members of the Matua community, which is concentrated in border districts such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Cooch Behar and has emerged as an important support base for the BJP in recent elections. The party had promised the community citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act. 

In contrast, deletions in several border and minority-dominated districts were below the state average of 7.6 per cent. This has prompted the ruling TMC to argue that the draft rolls undermine BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s claim that West Bengal hosts “10 million Rohingyas and Bangladeshis.” 

In Kolkata North, CM Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur constituency has emerged as one of the most affected. 

Political debate over the SIR exercise is expected to continue through the “claims and objections” period over the coming month.