KOLKATA: Around 91 lakh voters have been deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, raising questions over which party, the ruling Trinamool Congress or the opposition BJP, may gain in the upcoming Assembly elections across 294 constituencies scheduled for April 23 and 29.
The deletions include 64 lakh voters classified as absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD), and 27 lakh adjudicated electors. As a result, the state’s total electorate has dropped by about 12%, from 7.66 crore to around 6.76 crore, according to Election Commission of India (ECI) data. The Muslim vote share has also declined by over 5%.
A comparison of deleted voters with the Trinamool Congress’ winning margins over the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections suggests potential challenges for the ruling party in several districts.
In Kolkata, which has 11 constituencies all won by the Trinamool in 2021, 6.97 lakh voters have been deleted, exceeding the party’s previous winning margin of 4.55 lakh votes.
In Nadia district with 17 constituencies, 4.80 lakh voters have been removed, far higher than the Trinamool’s narrow lead of 20,903 votes in 2021, when the BJP won 9 seats and the Trinamool 8.
North 24 Parganas with 33 seats has seen 12.07 lakh deletions, compared to the Trinamool’s earlier lead of 9.13 lakh votes; the party had won 28 seats there against the BJP’s 5.
In North Dinajpur with 9 constituencies, 3.63 lakh names have been struck off, exceeding the Trinamool’s 2021 lead of 2.74 lakh votes.
In South Dinajpur with 6 constituencies, 1.79 lakh voters have been deleted, over three times the Trinamool’s margin of 44,945 votes.
Murshidabad, with over 70% Muslim population, has been the worst affected. Of 11,01,145 adjudicated voters, 4,55,137 were found ineligible, taking total deletions to 7,48,959 across its 22 constituencies. Several seats, including Samserganj, Lalgola, Bhagabangola, Raghunathganj, Farakka, Suti and Jangipur, have recorded deletions averaging over 60,000 voters. Samserganj alone saw 91,712 deletions, the highest in the state, followed by Lalgola with 68,475.
In 2021, the Trinamool had won 20 of the 22 seats in Murshidabad, where 18 MLAs are Muslims, while the BJP secured two seats.
Across border districts, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, North and South Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, and North and South 24 Parganas, more than 70% of the deleted voters are Muslims, who have traditionally supported the Trinamool Congress.
Observers say the decline in Muslim voters could impact the election outcome. In 2021, the Trinamool won over 95% of 90 seats with more than 30% Muslim population and around 102 of 112 seats with roughly 20% Muslim voters.
Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has strongly objected to the deletion of 27 lakh adjudicated voters, alleging political intent. “They are intentionally deleting voters in huge numbers in Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Bhabanipur. But why? The BJP is planning to win the elections by deleting names,” she said at a poll rally.