Brief
Deleted voters in West Bengal face exclusion from upcoming bye‑elections
Residents of Maradighi village say they have been left in legal limbo as the Supreme Court dismisses urgent pleas to restore their names.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Thousands of voters in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district will be unable to cast ballots in the bye‑elections scheduled for October 6, after their names were deleted from the electoral roll, Scroll.in reported.
What happened
Chief Justice Surya Kant, speaking in the Supreme Court on Monday, described the petitions seeking urgent hearings on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as “only bye‑elections, that’s all.” The comment was made in response to requests from petitioners who wanted the court‑appointed tribunals to restore the names of deleted voters before the upcoming polls. In the village of Maradighi, located in the Rejinagar Assembly seat, siblings Jharna Khatun, 22, and Ibrahim Sheikh discovered that both of their names had been removed. Their brother‑sister duo, along with other residents, will watch neighbours line up at the village school to vote, while they remain excluded.
What the reports add
Scroll.in notes that the deleted voters have been waiting for months for the tribunals to hear their appeals. The article also links the deletions to the state government’s recent night‑time detention and deportation drive, which targets individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has repeatedly warned that those whose names are deleted could lose state welfare benefits.
What was said
"These are only bye‑elections, that’s all," Chief Justice Surya Kant told the court, according to Scroll.in.
"All our neighbours will experience this again, but not us. That is giving me a lot of grief," said Jharna Khatun about her exclusion.
"Every vote holds value," her brother Ibrahim Sheikh added, noting that single votes have previously swung election results.
Abdul Alim Sheikh, a 64‑year‑old farmer from Maradighi, expressed fear of being sent to Bangladesh, saying, "I may have to spend my old age in Bangladesh, if the government so wishes," he joked wryly.
How it came about
The deletions stem from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, a state‑led effort to cleanse electoral rolls. Earlier this month, the INDIA opposition bloc met in Delhi to protest alleged voter deletions nationwide, a meeting covered by Felo News on September 30. The broader controversy has sparked legal challenges and political rallies across several states, highlighting tensions between the Election Commission’s procedures and concerns over migrant identification.
Key facts
- Voters in Murshidabad's Rejinagar constituency have been deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the Oct. 6 bye‑elections. (scroll.in)
- Chief Justice Surya Kant dismissed petitions for urgent hearings, calling them "only bye‑elections." (scroll.in)
- Residents fear loss of state welfare and possible deportation amid a government detention drive targeting alleged Bangladeshi migrants. (scroll.in)
Sources
- [1] scroll.in — originally reported as “As a Bengal seat goes to bye-polls, SIR deleted voters are stuck in limbo”
