New Delhi: The process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has become the focal point of electoral battle just before the Assembly elections
in the state. The fight to take the reins of the state will take place on April 23 and 29 to elect all 294 members of the Assembly, and the results will be declared on May 4.
The deletions of dead, duplicate and other voters from the list and the entire process have triggered immense controversy. In the draft roll that ECI published in December, about 58.2 lakh names were left out from the voters’ list and more names have been deleted after adjudication process.
Issue of ‘logical discrepancy’, missing names
In Bengal, the aspect of ‘logical discrepancy’ implemented by the ECI has kicked up a significant row. In it, voters whose records triggered scrutiny because the data did not fit cleanly into the mapped roll structure or document-verification flow were called for hearing.
According to a report by the Times of India, judicial officers in Bengal had disposed of 37 lakh under-adjudication cases by the time the ECI published the second supplementary voters’ list. However, out of them, only 22 lakh names appeared in the first two supplementary lists, leaving about 15 lakh names not visible there. While the EC published a third supplementary list, there was no clarity on how many names were on it.
Bengal places where SIR can take a toll
Murshidabad and Malda
The most affected places in Bengal by the SIR, according reports, are the Muslim-heavy seats in districts where deletion/adjudication has become politically explosive. In Murshidabad and adjoining areas, the number of voters deletion has been reportedly higher, with even prominent long-established families in the region being omitted.
In Murshidabad, the seats which are most affected are Samserganj, Bhagawangola, Raghunathganj, Nowda, Lalgola, and Lalbagh. The situation in same in some seats in Malda like Sujapur, Mothabari, English Bazar, Manikchak, Ratua, and Amrity, making those two districts extremely vulnerable. In Uttar Dinajpur, another district affected by the SIR, seats like Goalpokhar, Chopra, Islampur, Chakulia
In the border areas of Bengal, a heavy concentration of voters have been marked under adjudication. In seats where the winning margins can be close, the issues of deletion and whether large numbers of disputed voters get cleared in time to vote can become decisive. This is especially pertinent for the border belts in north and central border districts in Bengal.
The impact on urban and Matua belts
In the urban and inner-Kolkata seats and towns near the capital city, deletions can play a key role in determining the outcome of the results. In Kolkata and nearby urban constituencies, deletions of names have sharply reduced the electoral rolls. In the city, especially in Jorasanko, Chowringhee, Howrah Uttar,
Kolkata Port, Ballygunge Entally, Rashbehari and Chowringhee, many names have been deleted in the SIR process much to the hassle of the common people.
Also, the deletions in the seats in the Matua belt in North 24 Parganas, especially around Bagdah, Gaighata, Bongaon North and Bongaon South have to taken into account. According to reports, a bulk of Matua refugees have been deleted in the SIR process, making those seats even more sensitive. Notably, it is the BJP that had the upper-hand in the Matua belt in the previous elections.
Can SIR take a toll in close seats?
Yes. In seats like Dinhata, Balarampur, Kulti, Dantan, Tamluk, Jalpaiguri (SC), Ghatal, Moyna, Tapan (ST), Gazole (SC), Nandigram, Bangaon Dakshin (SC), Kalyani (SC), Mahisadal, Narayangarh, Baisnabnagar, Murshidabad, Burwan (SC), Raniganj, Durgapur Purba, Kharagpur Sadar, Pandaveswar, Habra, Dubrajpur (SC), Kalimpong, Ranibandh (ST), Para (SC), Falakata, Goghat (SC), Dhupguri (SC), Asansol Dakshin, Gangarampur (SC), and Cooch Behar Dakshin, where the winning margins were lower than 5,000 in the 2021 Assembly elections, the SIR can be prove to be tricky.
For example, in the 2021 Assembly elections, the winner of the Dinhata Assembly constituency was decided by only 57 votes. It was clinched by BJP’s Nisith Pramanik who secured 116,035 against TMC’s Udayan Guha who got 115,978. In such seats, the deletions of the SIR can become extremely crucial to decide the outcome.
