West Bengal's Electoral Roll Revision Reverses 15-Year Trend of Rising Female Voter Participation
Kolkata: A concerning trend has emerged in West Bengal's electoral landscape as the state prepares for assembly elections. The special intensive revision (SIR) of Bengal's electoral roll has resulted in a significant decline in the ratio of female voters to male voters, reversing a proportional rise that had been consistent over the past decade and a half.
Sharp Decline in Female Voter Ratio Across First-Phase Constituencies
The 152 assembly constituencies across 16 districts that will vote in the first phase on April 23 now show fewer women voters per 1,000 male electors compared to previous years. From an all-time high of 970 female voters per 1,000 male voters immediately before the SIR, the ratio dropped to 956:1000 after the publication of the draft voters' list on December 16. Although it recovered slightly to 964:1000 in the final voters' list released on February 28, the ratio for these specific constituencies was recorded at 952:1000 in the final list and dipped further to 950:1000 after judicial scrutiny.
The Election Commission has yet to release the ratio for the 142 assembly seats that will vote in the second phase, leaving questions about whether this trend extends across the entire state.
District-Level Analysis Reveals Widespread Declines
Among the districts participating in the first phase, the sharpest dips post-adjudication occurred in West Burdwan, Malda, and Kalimpong. In West Burdwan, the number of female voters dropped from 960 to 955 in the February 28 voters' list. Malda saw a decline from 941 to 936, while Kalimpong experienced a dip from 1,005 to 999. Similar reductions were noticeable in North and South Dinajpur and West Midnapore districts.
Murshidabad, which faced the most deletions during judicial scrutiny, showed a comparatively smaller decline from 943 to 941. Only two of the sixteen phase-one districts—Darjeeling (rising from 1,007 to 1,011) and Birbhum (increasing from 966 to 968)—bucked the downward trend.
Documentation Gap and Structural Inequalities Amplify the Problem
Sabar Institute researcher Sabir Ahamed explains that women historically possess fewer formal documents such as land records or caste certificates, making them more vulnerable to deletion from electoral rolls. "In Bengal, this intersects with deeper structural gaps," Ahamed noted. "Among matric/secondary pass as per Census 2011, women are only 41.8%, that is, 17 percentage points behind men."
According to an upcoming report titled 'An Atlas of Social Indicators of West Bengal,' women comprise just 20.5% of state government employees and 27.5% of IAS officers. This means most women are less likely to hold the documents now required for SIR, such as Madhyamik certificates or proof of government employment. Ahamed expressed serious concerns that documentation gaps, marriage-linked migration, and administrative lapses are silently erasing women from democratic participation.
Disproportionate Impact on SC and ST Reserved Constituencies
A state-wide Sabar Institute analysis reveals that female voters bear a disproportionately higher share of deletions and adjudication cases compared to the state average in Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved constituencies. Ashin Chakraborty, another Sabar Institute researcher, stated, "Across the 67 SC seats, female voters account for 52.4% of deletions and adjudication cases, which is 2.4 percentage points above the state average of 50.1%. The pattern is even more pronounced in the 16 ST seats, where females constitute 53.4% of the deletions and adjudication cases."
Reversal of a 15-Year Positive Trend
The current decline effectively puts brakes on what had been a rising trend for the past fifteen years. In 2011, there were only 907 women for every 1,000 men on the voters' list. By 2016 and 2021, the proportion of female voters had risen to 933 and 961, respectively. This increase coincided with the tenure of Bengal's first woman chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, and was accompanied by enhanced women's participation in elections.
Historical voting patterns show significant progress: In the 2006 assembly polls, 80.7% of women electors voted compared to 82.3% of men. The 2011 elections, which saw Trinamool Congress coming to office, witnessed 84.4% of women on the electoral roll turning up to vote compared to 84.2% of men. The 2021 assembly polls recorded 81.7% women turnout, exceeding men's participation by 0.3%.
Experts Warn of Marginalization of Vulnerable Women
Political analyst Udayan Bandyopadhyay commented, "The SIR exercise is making marginalized women more marginalized. They are the worst sufferers. Women, especially from poor backgrounds, are always at a disadvantage because there is a lack of consciousness that women may require so many documents and the need to keep them."
The decline in female voter ratios raises critical questions about electoral inclusivity and the potential disenfranchisement of women in West Bengal's democratic processes, particularly as the state approaches crucial assembly elections.
