Two women in their 80s, voters in Behala West, are among more than 5,00,000 whose names have been deleted from Bengal’s revised electoral rolls.
They come from different socio-economic backgrounds. They have been regular voters. Their omission lends weight to allegations that the revision is proving more exclusionary than corrective.
Sukhamoyi Saha, a widow, lives with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson in
a house her son built in Sonali Park, a neighbourhood in
Sarsuna.
Her son, Jagabandhu, a senior citizen himself, works as a security guard at a small housing complex. His name, too, has been deleted from the rolls. Sukhamoyi is unlettered, and her mobility has been compromised since a cerebral stroke a few years ago, said her son. According to her voter card, she is now 81.
Nilima Chakraborty’s voter card says she is 83. She is single and splits her time between a senior citizens’ home in Chetla and her sister’s home in Behala.
Popular with her nephews, nieces and their children, she was — until age caught up — the life of social gatherings. Her name appeared on the electoral rolls in 2002, but it was spelt incorrectly and the records listed her as married to “Agyato (Unknown) Chakraborty”.
Both women were born in Bangladesh.
Nilima came to Calcutta from Comilla as a little girl in 1946.
Sukhamoyi, who lost her husband early, arrived in the late 1980s, her son said. She cleaned and cooked in homes to earn a living. She had two sons. Jagabandhu’s younger brother died a bachelor around the turn of the century.
Both women have lived long enough in the city to qualify as entrenched residents. They have documents. Sukhamoyi has a voter card, an Aadhaar card and a deed for land purchased in her name by her two sons. Nilima has a voter card, an Aadhaar card and a Swasthya Sathi card. Both have bank accounts.
Both submitted the papers during the SIR hearing. Booth-level officers (BLOs) said the documents had been uploaded for the higher-ups to see.
Disquiet over the contentious SIR has grown since the February 28 list was published.
More than 5 lakh names have been deleted. They can appeal for re-inclusion.
The electoral fate of another 60.06 lakh voters, placed in the “under adjudication” category, remains uncertain. With the Bengal elections only weeks away, concerns have intensified that many people may not be able to cast their vote.
Nilima makes it a point to vote. “Her documents carry my address. She came here
before every election, including the last one in 2024,” said her sister, a retired employee of a public sector telecom company.
The sister visited the Chetla home to break the news to Nilima. “She stayed silent for a brief while. Then she said she would not vote if the system didn’t want her to. She is hurt, more than anything else,” the sister said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is a regular visitor to the Chetla home. Nilima says Mamata enquires about her well-being every time.
“Ki re kichhu holo?” is what Sukhamoyi keeps asking since learning that both her name and her son’s have been deleted, Jagabandhu said. She wants to know whether the omission was a mistake and if it has been corrected.
“We are poor people. My mother does not understand the elaborate process. She has been a regular voter and cast her vote in the last election in 2024. She cannot understand why she cannot vote now,” Jagabandhu said.