Widespread Protests Erupt in West Bengal Over Mass Voter Deletions
Protests erupted across West Bengal on Thursday, from Gaighata to Jalpaiguri, following the mass deletion of voters after judicial adjudication. The demonstrations were triggered by large-scale exclusions from the final electoral rolls, leading to significant public unrest and road blockades in multiple districts.
Tension Flares in Gaighata Over Electoral Roll Exclusions
Tension flared outside the Gaighata block development office in North 24-Parganas after aggrieved voters blocked Jessore Road in the morning. They alleged arbitrary removal of names from the voter lists. In Part No. 173 of Chandpara, within the Matua-dominated Gaighata Assembly constituency, a staggering 183 out of 186 voters who were "under adjudication" were excluded from the supplementary voter list.
Residents staged a blockade and later submitted a memorandum to the Block Development Officer (BDO), demanding the restoration of their names. When CPM candidate from Bongaon South, Ashish Sarkar, attempted to address the gathering, protesters asked him to leave, urging that the issue not be politicised. Police from Gaighata station intervened, and the blockade was lifted after about 30 minutes following assurances from authorities.
Controversy Deepens with Supplementary Voter List Publication
The controversy deepened significantly after the publication of the second supplementary voter list late on Friday. "The list revealed that only three out of 186 voters in the 173rd booth of Chandpara were deemed valid, leaving 183 names deleted," said Ananda Biswas, a protester. This development has fuelled intense anger among the Matua community, with many residents stating they were completely unaware of the process to appeal before the Election Commission's (EC) tribunals.
Debaprasad Bala, a resident of Dhakuria under the same booth, expressed his frustration, saying, "My family has been voting for generations, yet our names have been removed. Almost everyone in our locality faces the same issue. We trusted the assurances given by Union minister Shantanu Thakur, but now we feel betrayed."
Lakshmirani Singh Laskar, an elderly resident, added, "I have been a voting citizen for years. I submitted documents from 1965, including my father's papers and land records. Still, my name has been struck off. Why?"
Protests Spread to Jalpaiguri and Malda Districts
In Jalpaiguri, residents blocked a national highway at Husulurdanga on the Dhupguri–Maynaguri stretch around noon. They were protesting the deletion of names during the Summary Revision (SIR) process, despite earlier inclusion under adjudication. The blockade caused heavy congestion near a toll gate. The situation eased after Sadar Sub-Divisional Officer Moin Ahmed intervened, with the blockade lifted after nearly two hours.
In Malda, protests continued despite the previous day's unrest in Mothabari. National Highway 12 was blocked at Narayanpur by voters from Jalanga, Mangalbari, and Jatradanga gram panchayats, disrupting traffic from 8 am. Protesters alleged that the Election Commission had deliberately deleted names in minority-dominated areas, citing booth no. 153 in Mangalbari where 253 voters were removed. The blockade was lifted after two hours.
Within an hour, another blockade began at Jadupur in English Bazar, where villagers used burning tyres and bamboo barricades under the slogan "First Voter, Then Vote". Police later resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, highlighting the escalating tensions.
The widespread protests underscore deep-seated concerns over electoral integrity and transparency in West Bengal, with citizens demanding immediate rectification of the voter lists to ensure their democratic rights are upheld.
