Kolkata, 13 December (H.S.) :
Data emerging from the counting phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has sparked political debate, revealing that voter removals are likely to be higher in constituencies represented by senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and the Chief Minister herself. Conversely, constituencies held by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers show comparatively fewer names flagged for removal.
In Kolkata’s Bhabanipur assembly constituency, represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a total of 44,787 voters have been marked as potentially removable. The Kolkata Port assembly constituency, adjoining South Kolkata and represented by state Urban Development Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, has 63,730 voters identified for removal.
In South 24 Parganas’ Behala Paschim constituency, represented by former Education Minister and TMC General Secretary Partha Chatterjee, 52,247 voters have been flagged. Other constituencies with high numbers include Dum Dum North (33,912) and Dum Dum (33,862) in North 24 Parganas, represented by Finance State Minister Chandraima Bhattacharya and Education Minister Bratya Basu respectively, and Tollygunge in South Kolkata, represented by Power Minister Arup Biswas, with 35,309 voters marked.
In contrast, the Nandigram assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur, represented by BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari, shows only 10,599 potentially removable voters. Notably, in the 2021 assembly elections, Shubhendu Adhikari had defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram by fewer than 2,000 votes, after which she won a by-election from Bhabanipur to secure a third term as Chief Minister.
BJP-dominated areas in North Bengal also report lower numbers. In Siliguri constituency of Darjeeling district, represented by BJP General Secretary Shankar Ghosh, 31,181 voters are marked for removal. In Balurghat constituency of North Dinajpur, represented by BJP MLA and former Chief Economic Advisor to the Union Government Ashok Kumar Lahiri, only 11,219 voters have been flagged.
The SIR data is expected to fuel political debate, with opposition parties alleging irregularities in TMC strongholds, while the ruling party maintains that the process is purely administrative.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
