Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: West Bengal, which has seen the most noise against SIR, ranked fifth in terms of net deletions (10.9%) among the 12 states/UTs where SIR Phase 2 stands completed, and third in terms of the absolute number of deletions of absent, shifted, dead and doubly enrolled (ASDD) electors. The state was second only to Uttar Pradesh in the count of dead electors dropped from the roll. While 25.5 lakh deceased electors were detected and removed in UP, West Bengal had 24.2 lakh such voters. Together, UP and West Bengal accounted for almost three-fourths of the 66.9 lakh dead electors deleted across the 12 states/UTs. In terms of permanently shifted electors struck off the rolls in Phase 2, West Bengal, with 19.9 lakh of the total 3.1 crore deletions in this category, figured at number six. This, notwithstanding the fact that the strength of Bengal’s electorate at the start of SIR was second only to UP’s.
UP, where outmigration is a common phenomenon, accounted for the highest number of deletions of shifted electors (1.3 crore), followed by Tamil Nadu (52.7 lakh), Gujarat (40.2 lakh), Rajasthan (24.9 lakh) and Madhya Pradesh (22.8 lakh). Electors removed across the 12 states/UTs for being enrolled at multiple places totalled nearly 1.3 crore. In this category, West Bengal was at number 8, the lowest among the big states. With the removal of 1.4 lakh doubly enrolled electors, it finished behind UP (79.5 lakh), Tamil Nadu (13.5 lakh), Gujarat (9.7 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (8.4 lakh), Kerala (6.4 lakh), Rajasthan (4.6 lakh) and Chhattisgarh (3.7 lakh). Apart from ASDD electors struck off the rolls, there is an “others” category covering those who chose not to fill and submit enumeration forms despite multiple visits by booth level officers. Of the 12.7 lakh deletions under this head, West Bengal accounted for the fourth-highest number (57,604), behind UP (7.7 lakh), Gujarat (1.9 lakh) and Kerala (1.6 lakh). West Bengal saw the lowest number of electors being added among the major states during SIR. These additional enrolments were made based on Form 6 (first-time electors) and Form 8 (existing voters enrolling at a new address). West Bengal saw an addition of 7.5 lakh electors, putting it in seventh place after UP (92.4 lakh), Tamil Nadu (35 lakh), Kerala (20.4 lakh), Rajasthan (15.4 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (12.9 lakh) and Gujarat (12.2 lakh). Another 63.2 lakh names were deleted across the 12 states/UTs through Form 7 or adjudication, with the latter exercise being exclusive to West Bengal. The TMC-governed state topped the list with 33.1 lakh deletions, including 27.1 lakh adjudicated by judicial officers and the remaining 6 lakh removed following objections received through Form 7. Overall, West Bengal’s net deletions of 10.9% – as a percentage of the electorate at the start of SIR – positioned it lower than Andaman and Nicobar Islands (16.6%), UP (13.2%), Gujarat (13.1%) and Chhattisgarh (11.3%).
