Kolkata, Oct. 29 -- Former IAS officer and ex-Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar has cited a Sabar Institute study alleging that one in four electors across 17 Assembly constituencies covering Kolkata's municipal election areas was deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
In a Facebook post, Sircar alleged that voter lists were being cut before the election and described the deletions as part of a political plan to capture the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The study, however, does not establish political motivation.
The institute's analysis of Election Commission data puts the pre-SIR electorate in the 17 constituencies at 42.03 lakh. It records 10,50,870 deletions across all three stages of the exercise, equivalent to 25 per cent of the electorate. Of those removed, 2,81,704 were listed as deceased, while 7,69,166 were living electors.
The report says 3,41,233 living voters were marked 'not found at address' and 2,60,633 as having shifted permanently. Together, these categories accounted for about 78 per cent of living-voter removals. Another 1,26,473 names were deleted through the logical-discrepancy process following adjudication. The draft-roll stage added 26,007 deletions.
Chowringhee recorded the highest deletion rate, at 41.7 per cent, followed by Jorasanko at 39.4 per cent and Kolkata Port at 32.1 per cent. Tollygunge had the lowest rate, at 14.4 per cent.
The study also found that Muslims accounted for 63 per cent of logical-discrepancy deletions across 16 constituencies, excluding Shyampukur, where a religious breakdown was unavailable.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.