Decoding SIR Impact in West Bengal, Pg11

Key Highlights:

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal led to a significant decrease of approximately 80 lakh in the electorate.
• Voter turnout in the recent Assembly election was 93%, inflated due to the reduced electorate size after the SIR.
• BJP's total votes increased by 63 lakh, while AITC's votes decreased by 29.5 lakh between 2021 and 2026.
• Approximately 25 lakh Muslims were deleted during the SIR, representing 38.6% of total deletions, higher than their population share.

Detailed Insights:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) introduced a "logical discrepancy" criterion, exclusively in West Bengal, leading to extended voter roll revisions.
• SIR alterations (deletions and additions) were disproportionately higher in 12 districts with a higher concentration of Muslims.
• In 82 out of the 207 seats won by the BJP, the magnitude of SIR alterations exceeded the winning margin.
• Digital scrutiny in Bhabanipur revealed that 26% of deletions were Muslims, while they only accounted for 19% of additions to the electoral rolls.
• The author suggests the Supreme Court should address the intent and legitimacy of SIR to prevent recurrence in other states and ensure justice for those wrongfully deleted.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Special Intensive Revision (SIR): A process of revising electoral rolls, involving enumeration, claims, objections, and adjudication.
• Electoral Roll: A list of persons registered and eligible to vote in an election.
• Disenfranchisement: The act of depriving someone of the right to vote.