A citizens’ forum has demanded that the Assembly elections in Bengal should not be held until a complete voters’ list is prepared with no names remaining “under adjudication”.

The forum also said that genuine voters whose names were deleted from the post-SIR rolls published on February 28 must be included in the list.

Only then can the process be deemed complete, members said.

Sara Bangla Bicharadhin Voter Mancha submitted a memorandum to Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO) on Saturday listing their demands. The forum said it was opposed to any attempt to impose President’s Rule in the state if a full electoral roll is not ready before the elections.

“The Assembly election dates should not be announced until the electoral rolls are ready. An electoral roll can be said to be complete only when it does not have anyone under adjudication,” said Kasturi Basu, a member of the forum.

More than 60.06 lakh voters were “under adjudication” in the February 28 list.

Officials at the Bengal CEO’s office said about 7 lakh of these cases had been decided till Friday. It is not yet known how many of them have been re-included in the rolls and how many have been removed.

“The complete list should include the names of all genuine voters who were deleted from the revised rolls. Unless this happens, no electoral roll can be deemed complete,” said Basu, who was among the two members who went to the Bengal CEO’s office to submit the memorandum.

More than 5.46 lakh voters were deleted from the rolls.

Members of Sara Bangla Bicharadhin Voter Mancha protest in BBD Bag on Saturday

Metro has reported about several Calcuttans who had voted for decades but are now marked “deleted”.

There are many more whose voting credentials have been questioned for reasons beyond their control.

Sources in the poll panel said voters who feel their names were deleted unjustly can file Form 6 — the form for name inclusion in the electoral roll — to have their names added again.

Members of the Bicharadhin Voter Mancha marched with their demands from the Tea Board on Saturday afternoon. They intended to go to the Bengal CEO’s office, but police stopped the rally outside the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Two representatives were then allowed to proceed to submit the memorandum.

The rally included many people who were themselves “under adjudication” or had someone in their family listed as such. Others joined in solidarity with those whose names had been struck off the rolls or who are uncertain about their status on the voters’ list.

Safiul Mollick, a resident of the Khandaghosh Assembly constituency in Purba Bardhaman, was among those in the rally. His mother, Sufiya Begum, 65, is “under adjudication”.

“My father writes his name as Abul Kalam Mollick. During the SIR, my mother was served a hearing notice because her surname and my father’s surname do not match. They wanted to know whether her surname is Mollick or Begum,” said Safiul.

Sufiya submitted her passport, Aadhaar card and voter card, yet her case remains under adjudication.

Metro had earlier reported that the number of voters “under adjudication” was higher in Muslim-majority parts of Calcutta. A ward is made up of several parts, while an Assembly constituency consists of several wards.

Community members said many Muslim women do not use their parents’ or husbands’ surnames and instead use Begum or Bibi with their names.

They questioned how the EC could be unaware of such cultural practices.Among those at Saturday’s rally was 80-year-old Anuroopa Deb, who had come from Garia.

“I may not have suffered today, but that cannot be an excuse for me not to stand with those who are suffering,” she said while walking at the forefront of the march.