KOLKATA/RANAGHAT: The impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being felt across West Bengal, with stories emerging of long-time voters and even former election officials finding their names deleted.
Among them is 97-year-old Subarna Bala Poddar, a Partition refugee who has voted in every election since Independence. Now, her name is missing from the rolls.
Unaware of the deletion, she said, “If my health permits, I will vote.” When told her name was no longer listed, she responded, “I have a voter ID. Why can’t I vote?”
Her family in Kolkata’s Narkeldanga said she had earlier used the home voting facility. This time, despite submitting multiple documents—including voter ID, Aadhaar, bank passbook, and widow pension records—her claim was rejected. A spelling discrepancy in older rolls (“Swarna Bala” instead of “Subarna”) reportedly triggered scrutiny. Even a fresh application failed.
The impact extends beyond one household: of eight family members, four—including two grandsons—have lost their voting rights. Local roll numbers in the area have dropped sharply, according to party workers.
In Hooghly, 72-year-old retired teacher S. Asraful Haque—who once served as a presiding officer in 12 elections—has also been removed from the rolls, even as his family members remain listed.
Haque submitted extensive documentation, including a passport, land records dating back to 1944, PAN, Aadhaar, and bank papers. “My parents’ names were on the 1956 voter list, and I have proof. My own name appeared in the 2002 rolls. Still, I was called for a hearing without any clear reason,” he said.
Now placed in the deletion list, he has appealed to a tribunal. “How can someone with all valid documents be removed?” he asked.
In Nadia’s Ranaghat, the issue took a tragic turn. Jibankrishna Biswas collapsed and died while waiting in a queue outside an SDO office to appeal the deletion of his and his daughter’s names. His family blamed the stress caused by the process.
The incident sparked protests, with political leaders alleging that administrative actions had pushed citizens into distress. “Politics took his life,” his daughter said.
Across districts, many families report similar experiences—hearings without clear explanations, documents deemed insufficient, and abrupt transitions from “under adjudication” to deletion.
For thousands, the fundamental right to vote has become a bureaucratic struggle, marked by long queues, repeated paperwork, and uncertainty over whether their names will be restored.
