Anxiety grips Bengal ahead of polls as 90 lakh names excluded from rolls

The publication of the latest Individuals under Adjudication Report shows that out of 6,006,675 individuals flagged for review, a staggering 2,716,393 have been found not eligible. This implementation of the adjudication process has sparked a climate of 'bureaucratic anxiety,' leaving nearly six million people in a legal limbo.

In Short

• Over 2.7 million voters in West Bengal found not eligible in adjudication report
• Murshidabad tops with 4.55 lakh names excluded, causing local tension
• Families split legally, even BSF personnel like Abdul Bari face exclusion

With less than 30 days remaining before the high-stakes second phase of elections on April 29, a deepening cloud of uncertainty hangs over millions of voters in West Bengal. The publication of the latest Individuals under Adjudication Report shows that out of 6,006,675 individuals flagged for review, a staggering 2,716,393 have been found not eligible. This implementation of the adjudication process has sparked a climate of ‘bureaucratic anxiety,’ leaving nearly six million people in a legal limbo.

The top five districts where the highest number of people were found not eligible are Murshidabad (4,55,137 names), North 24 Pargana (2,65,077 names), Malda ( 5,88,657 names), South 24 Pargana (5,22,042 names, total action to be taken was 522,042; Not Eligible count is 222,929 ), and Purba Bardhaman (1,50,540 names)

MURSHIDABAD: THE EPICENTRE OF UNCERTAINTY

In Murshidabad, which leads the state with 1,101,145 individuals originally marked for ‘action to be taken,’ the atmosphere is particularly tense. According to the latest data, 4,55,137 individuals in this district alone have been found not eligible, while 6,33,671 were deemed eligible.

In the village of Debipur, Suti block, distinguished as the most educated village in the region, the drive for academic excellence has been eclipsed by the fear of exclusion lists. The tension is palpable as families find themselves arbitrarily divided; in many households, siblings with identical documentation are split into "legal" and "excluded" categories.

The systemic failure is perhaps most jarring in the case of Abdul Bari, a serving member of the Border Security Force (BSF). Despite a career spent guarding the Line of Control in Kashmir and serving in Odisha, Bari now finds his own legal status questioned at home. "When those tasked with national security are themselves scrutinised as 'outsiders,' it creates a crisis of faith in the state," local residents noted.

In response, the youth of Murshidabad are bypassing traditional party structures. Led by activists like Ajijur Rehman, educated graduates have established facilitation desks at local mosques to help villagers of all faiths file appeals, prioritising a secular "Indian identity" over communal polarisation.

BHABANIPUR: THE EYE OF THE STORM

The crisis has reached a boiling point in Bhabanipur, the constituency of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Despite the release of a supplementary list covering 3.2 million voters statewide, physical lists remain conspicuously absent from polling booths.

The human cost of the delay is reflected in the stories of residents who have lived in the state for generations:

Salim Ali Laskar, 42, a resident of Bhabanipur for over 50 years, remains in the dark despite a hearing to correct a minor name error. Sheikh Kamaruddin, a long-standing voter, also has the same story as he fears that his children will find it difficult to pursue education and employment in the upcoming time.

The under-adjudication status also impacted the employment scenario of Pankaj Ram, a resident in the Bhabanipur area, who cast his vote in previous elections.

Subrata Gupta, Roll Observer for the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, clarified that rolls for certain booths remain unpublished because designated Judicial Officers have yet to affix their signatures.

HIGH POLITICAL STAKES

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during a high-octane visit to West Bengal last Sunday, linking their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to the shielding of illegal immigrants.

"The TMC considers these infiltrators as their vote bank; that is why they oppose the SIR—to ensure their identity remains hidden,” said PM Modi.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a dig at the BJP and the ECI during a speech in Chakdaha, highlighting her efforts to resolve the crisis.

"Since I have gone to the Supreme Court and due to my efforts, out of 60 lakhs, 32 lakhs people have been included in the voter list. We will try to include the rest of the filings in the tribunal. They have excluded names from Malda and other districts. They have also excluded 40 thousand voters from my Bhabanipur constituency,” Banerjee said.

Kolkata's Sabar Institute, which has surveyed the entire SIR process with detailed research, has also claimed that Muslim voters were targeted in the process. The Director of Sabar Institute, Sabir Ahmed, spoke about their research.

He said, "The incident is a normal exercise, but done in haste, considering the diversity of the state. In the ASDD list, where there is a Muslim, there is a more unmapped population. So, after that, the commission brought LD under adjudication. Those people were called for a hearing. The Election Commission is not supposed to identify how many siblings you have. From logical discrepancy and under adjudication, in the Port and Bhabanipur areas, proportionate to their percentage, they were deleted. In the middle, they brought AI, which caused huge chaos. Constituency after constituency, we have checked randomly – Nandigram, Bhabanipur, and others - everywhere, Muslims were disproportionately figuring in the deletion list. They have targeted this exercise. So, this is the ground on which they have deleted their names. The Matuas are also endangered, and women were also targeted. In Bhabanipur, 20 per cent were Muslims, and 70 per cent of names were due to a logical discrepancy. I just requested to send two names from Nandigram, but I got 200 names."

The institution further mentioned that an analysis of supplementary list deletions in Nandigram Assembly constituency reveals a stark and alarming disproportionality, as 95.5% of those deleted are Muslims, despite being just 33.3% of the Dec 2025 ASDD list and roughly 25% of the population.

Among those deleted, 48.9% are female, and 51.1% are male, showing the issue cuts across gender, but disproportionately affects a community. This raises serious concerns about the SIR process and its impact.

- Ends