The effect of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is so acute in the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency that it worries every party, including the BJP.
Rakesh Singh, the BJP candidate from the constituency, said that several residents had complained about missing names in the rolls; he stressed the need for transparency.
The CPM nominee, Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, also said voters in several areas had raised similar concerns.
The sharp decline in the number of voters following the SIR has injected an element of uncertainty into the constituency, which is otherwise considered a safe seat for the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The number of voters in this south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26 per cent.
The Trinamool has re-nominated senior minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad ‘Bobby’ Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms. The Congress has nominated Aquib Gulzar, making it a four-cornered contest.
Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.
The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected.
Singh's candidature has added a twist to the contest. He had earlier contested against Hakim as a Congress candidate but is now on a BJP ticket.
Hakim won the seat in 2016 by 26,548 votes defeating Singh and increased his margin significantly to 68,554 votes in 2021, polling over 1 lakh votes.
The TMC said it was confident of retaining the seat. "People here know who has stood by them. Elections are decided by trust," Hakim told PTI during a campaign event.
Opposition parties have raised concerns over the voter list revision, alleging that names of genuine voters have been removed.
Civic issues such as sanitation, traffic congestion and declining business activity in traditional markets are also campaign issues in the constituency, though the revised voter list has emerged as a key talking point.
