Voter list: More than 47K names deleted from Bhawanipore; TMC alleges BJP-ECI nexus

Kolkata: The removal of over 47,000 names from Bhawanipore’s final electoral rolls has stirred political circles and signals a potentially intense electoral battle.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) has, however, referred to the deletion of names as the handiwork of the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming the move will yield no benefit for the saffron party.

There has been a buzz within the ruling party that Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee may again contest the upcoming polls from this Constituency.

The draft roll, published on December 16 last year, showed the deletion of 44,786 names here. In the final list released by the ECI on Saturday, another 2,324 names were removed, taking the total deletions to 47,094, a figure roughly 11,000 less than the over 58,000-vote margin secured by Banerjee in the 2021 bypoll from Bhawanipore.

In the 2021 assembly elections, senior Trinamool Congress leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay had won the seat by over 28,000 votes. Months later, he vacated it to pave the way for Banerjee to contest the bypoll after she was defeated in Nandigram. In that by-election, Banerjee emerged victorious with a margin of more than 58,000 votes.

Bhawanipore may witness a high-voltage contest in the forthcoming elections with the large-scale removal of names of voters in the constituency becoming extremely significant. The BJP, however, has repeatedly claimed that the constituency is winnable for them this time. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and former state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar have made frequent visits to the area in recent months, projecting it as a prestige battle.

Following the SIR notification, the TMC supremo held multiple meetings with party workers and BLAs, issuing guidelines for them to follow.

Apart from the deletions, 14,154 voters have been placed in the “under adjudication” category, with their fate subject to document verification. If these names are eventually struck off, the net reduction in the constituency’s electorate could rise further.

Adhikari on Friday challenged Mamata to contest from Bhawanipore again, alleging that she was aware of the “nature of votes” that helped her win previously.

TMC, however, dismissed the BJP’s claims, saying that voters whose names were “wrongfully” deleted could still seek restoration.

Blaming the BJP-led Centre and ECI for the deletion of names, a senior TMC leader said: “It would be incorrect to treat this as the final word. We all know the dirty game EC-BJP is playing, but it won’t yield any results. There will also be an option for reapplying.”