Inside SPM-NIWAS in Joka, retired judges sat in tribunals deciding who qualified as a voter and who did not. Outside, hundreds of disenfranchised voters from across Bengal gathered through the day, hoping for a chance to present their cases and reclaim their voting rights.
The urgency and desperation among those assembled were unmistakable. But none of them was allowed to enter. Nor were they given any clarity on the proceedings inside.
The Supreme Court has ordered that individuals cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in electoral rolls at least two days before polling will be eligible to vote. The order offered a narrow window of hope, prompting many to travel long distances with stacks of documents they hoped would prove they were legitimate voters, not “ghosts”.
Many among those waiting were women.
Sabina Khatun, a 23-year-old homemaker from Nadia’s Nakashipara, travelled over 130km carrying her 19-month-old daughter. She took a train to Sealdah, another to Majerhat, and hired an autorickshaw to Joka.
“My vote is my right. I will camp here if I have to. But I want my vote back,” said Sabina, whose name was removed from the rolls along with her mother’s.
Sabina has four siblings, but the SIR process incorrectly mapped six children to her father. Each of the siblings received hearing notices and were under adjudication. “I have one brother and three sisters. All of them have been approved, but not my name,” she said.
Many of those who turned up at Joka belong to the unorganised sector, where missing a day’s work means lost income. Still, the fear of losing their voting rights outweighed the financial strain. Daily wage labourers, tailors and contractual workers were among those waiting outside the Joka campus.
Sajjad Jamal Miah, 32, travelled from Cooch Behar. Sajjad’s father was also incorrectly mapped to six children. He has three.
He came with five other voters whose names had been deleted — all from Sitalkuchi, where four people were killed in firing by central forces during the fourth phase of the Assembly elections on April 10, 2021.
“The six of us hired a private vehicle that left Cooch Behar at 6pm on Thursday. It cost us ₹20,000 for a round trip,” said Sajjad, a contractual employee at the office of the local BDO. “The money was wasted. We were not let in. The anxiety is such that I might have to come again,” he said.
Raju Ghosh, a Trinamool Congress functionary from North 24-Parganas and a voter in Bidhannagar, is a co-petitioner in a PIL before the Supreme Court challenging the deletions. His petition is part of a batch being heard by the court. Ghosh was also at the Joka institute on Friday.
“The Supreme Court has said that voters approved by tribunals on or before April 21 can vote in the first phase on April 23, and those approved by April 27 can vote in the second phase on April 29. We have come to expedite our cases,” Ghosh said.
He was accompanied by a lawyer who sought permission to enter the premises. A posse of central force jawans and state police personnel stopped them from going in.
“There must be a nodal officer or at least a reception. Please let us reach there. This is in accordance with the principle of natural justice. Our cases are being heard. We have the right to be present or at least submit our documents with an officer,” the lawyer argued.
But the security personnel pleaded helplessness. “We cannot (allow entry). You will get a communication when the time comes,” one of them said.
The same response was repeated through the day as several appellants were turned away.