SIR Effect: 'Ineligible' voters exceed win margins in 25 BJP seats in West Bengal

New Delhi: In nearly 50 seats of West Bengal, the number of electors eventually declared 'ineligible' under the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and those flagged under still-pending adjudication, far exceeds the winning margin on counting day.

About 25 of these seats have been won by the BJP, while a near-equal number have gone to the Trinamool Congress, according to poll panel data available until press time.

Several constituencies, in fact, show the number of electors deemed 'ineligible' or deleted during adjudication at two to three times or more than the winning margin, raising serious questions about the impact of SIR-related deletions on electoral outcomes.


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This also opens up the possibility of election petitions in several such constituencies.

Factor the case of Champdani in South Bengal, where the gap is stark. The winning margin stands at a mere 13 votes until press time, allowing BJP's Dilip Singh to unseat the TMC in a constituency that saw over 7,600 deletions during the adjudication period.

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Karandighi, which reported 31,562 persons found 'ineligible' under adjudication, has a winning margin of just over 19,800, delivering victory to BJP's Biraj Biswas.

Jangipur, too - with 36,581 electors found 'ineligible' - has a winning margin of just over 10,542, again resulting in a BJP win.

Monteswar, with 23,423 'ineligible' electors awaiting adjudication, has a winning margin of no more than 14,700.

Hemtabad - against 18,215 'ineligible' electors under adjudication - has reported a winning margin of around 12,300.

Similar patterns emerge across constituencies, from Dinhata in North Bengal to Darjeeling, and from Raina to Bally - the latter recording a victory margin of around 4,600 against 11,386 electors under adjudication.

The TMC, too, has its share of such cases - from Samserganj, with a margin of just over 7,500 against more than 74,000 'ineligible' electors under adjudication, to Manikchak, Suti, Lalgola and Raghunathganj, all reflecting a similar pattern. In Lalgola, against 55,420 adjudication cases, the winning margin hovered near 19,000. Suti, with 37,965 electors caught in adjudication, reported a margin of just around 12,350.

West Bengal was among a dozen states and Union Territories that underwent the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls under the second phase, which has seen over 2 crore names deleted for a range of reasons.

However, the process has been particularly protracted in the state, where over 27 lakh electors were declared 'ineligible' and remain under adjudication following the Supreme Court orders. Fewer than 1,500 of these have had their names restored to the rolls ahead of the state's two-phase polls, even as many claim to have submitted all required documents.

Incidentally, during an April 23 hearing on the SIR exercise in the state, the Supreme Court had observed that if the winning margin in the election is around 2% and as much as 15% of the mapped electorate could not vote, then the apex court would "definitely have to apply minds."