West Bengal polls: Malda villages in fear as half the names rejected by adjudicators

Sujapur|Mothabari: In Malda district's Sujapur and Mothabari constituencies, a striking pattern has emerged after SIR adjudication - in most households, only one or two members remain on the electoral rolls while the rest have been deleted.

Despite the high-stakes Assembly polls and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's campaign across the district, there is little visible political heat. Instead, fear and uncertainty over voter list deletions dominate conversations, casting a pall of anxiety across villages.

Residents across Keshorpur, Pataldanga, Babla, Chandpur, Colony and Achintala echoed similar concerns: while one or two family members feature on the rolls, others have been removed following hearings conducted by judicial officers.


In Amlitala village under Mothabari Gram Panchayat in Kaliachak-II - barely 500 metres from the Block Development Office where judicial officers were gheraoed - a booth with 707 electors has reportedly been reduced to around 400, with over 300 names deleted, said local resident Anwar Biswas.

Biswas said that while his name remains, those of his father - with whom his records were linked - and his two elder brothers, both associated with the Trinamool Panchayat, have been deleted. "We have lived here for over 100 years. Even my 95-year-old grandmother's name is still on the list," he said.

With large-scale deletions reported, residents are preparing to approach tribunals, while local Trinamool Congress units plan to set up camps to help fill appeal forms, particularly for those who are illiterate. In several villages visited, nearly 50% of names under a single Booth Level Officer (BLO) were found deleted.

Anju Bibi said only her name figures on the list, while those of her two sons and their wives have been removed. "We have been standing in queues, struggling with this. We are citizens, yet now we don't even have EPIC cards," she said.

In Keshorpur under Mothabari constituency, a BLO said that of 1,445 names in the draft roll, around 800 were issued notices. After hearings, only 204 names figured in the supplementary list. "We are yet to trace the deleted names," the official said.

Kurban Ali said his and his wife's names were retained, but those of all three sons were deleted.

Md Ismail, an advocate, said he had submitted land documents dating back to 1962 and linked his records to his father, a voter since 2002, yet his name was removed from the list.