27L out of West Bengal rolls after adjudication, maximum from Muslim, Matua belts

KOLKATA: Shamsherganj and Lalgola constituencies of Bengal’s Muslim-dominant Murshidabad district had the highest number of voters removed from the electoral rolls after post-SIR judicial adjudication, while the Purulia-Jhargram tribal belt reported the least deletions, based on collated Election Commission data released on Thursday. The figures for Murshidabad – 74,775 deletions out of 1,08,400 names that were under adjudication in Shamsherganj, followed by 55,420 out of 99,082 in Lalgola – constitute a fraction of the 27-lakh purge reflected in supplementary rolls. The state’s overall voter count now stands at 6.7 crore. The assembly-wise break-up shows that besides Murshidabad, significant deletions took place in Malda, North Dinajpur, South 24-Parganas and Birbhum. Matua-dominant pockets of North 24-Parganas and Nadia lost voters, too. Electoral rolls for the 142 constituencies going to polls in the second phase on April 29 were frozen on Thursday, which means no further additions, deletions or corrections will be allowed until elections are over. Lists for the other 152 constituencies that will vote in the first phase were sealed on April 6. SC is scheduled to hear Bengal govt’s plea for a review on April 13, leaving a small window of hope for the 27 lakh voters deleted from the rolls. The scale of deletions in Shamsherganj assumes significance in view of the recent flare-ups in the area, including protests linked to the Waqf (Amendment) Act and clashes during Ram Navami processions. In neighbouring Malda, Mothabari has emerged as a flashpoint. On April 1, protests over deletion of voter names en bloc turned violent, with mobs blocking roads, clashing with security personnel and gheraoing judicial officers for several hours. More than 37,000 names out of 79,683 under adjudication in Mothabari were struck off the rolls. In Krishnanagar North, Krishnanagar South, Ranaghat North West, Ranaghat North East and Ranaghat South, over 90% of those placed under adjudication didn’t make the cut. Deletions ranged between 67% and 88% in all six assembly segments of Bongaon. Since the release of the data earlier this week, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly flagged what she terms “targeted exclusions”. Sukesh Chowdhury, secretary of the All India Matua Mahasangha, said mass exclusion from the voters’ list had fuelled anxiety within the community. He said the CM’s promise of legal support was reassuring. Bikash Ghosh, of BJP’s Bongaon unit, said affected voters would receive assistance in moving tribunals to seek restoration of their names. Two of the state’s most closely watched constituencies – Bhowanipore in Kolkata and Nandigram in East Midnapore – reported deletions that are below the state average. Bhowanipore, where the CM is up against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, had 27.5% deletions, with 3,893 out of 14,154 names under adjudication removed. In Nandigram, where Adhikari is contesting against former ally-turned-TMC candidate Pabitra Sarkar, 32.6% of voters under scrutiny – 3,461 out of 10,616 – were excluded. In Purulia’s Manbazar, only 71 names of the 2,771 voters under adjudication were struck off. Onda, also in Purulia, reported just 1% deletion.