More than three lakh names have been deleted and around one and a half lakh people directed to appear for hearings following the release of the draft voters’ list in West Burdwan district by the Election Commission of India.
West Burdwan comprises nine Assembly constituencies: Asansol North, Asansol South, Barabani, Jamuria, Kulti, Pandaveswar, Raniganj, Durgapur West and Durgapur East. The Trinamul Congress (TMC) currently holds six seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds three. Key constituencies include Asansol North, represented by Moloy Ghatak, minister for law, judiciary and labour; Durgapur East, represented by panchayat minister Pradip Majumdar; Asansol South, represented by Agnimitra Paul; Barabani, represented by Bidhan Upadhyay, Mayor of Asansol Municipal Corporation; Pandaveswar, represented by TMC district president Bidhan Upadhyay; and Raniganj, represented by Tapas Banerjee, former Mayor of AMC and Chairman of ADDA.
The deletions in the draft roll are as follows:
– Asansol North: 42,653
– Asansol South: 39,252
– Kulti: 38,210
– Raniganj: 35,524
– Jamuria: 33,640
– Durgapur West: 33,524
– Barabani: 31,317
– Durgapur East: 25,334
– Pandaveswar: 25,334
An all-party meeting was convened at the district headquarters in Asansol, chaired by District Magistrate (DM) and District Electoral Officer (DEO) S Ponnambalam, along with ADM Subhashini E, Asansol Sadar SDM Biswajeet Bhattacharya and other senior officials.
Speaking to The Statesman, DM Ponnambalam said that of the district’s 23.27 lakh voters, 3.06 lakh names had been deleted from the draft roll. These include deceased, shifted and duplicate entries across the nine constituencies. “About one and a half lakh voters will be called for hearings. Clear instructions for the second phase of hearings are awaited, but ARO and ERO-level officers will be present during the process,” he added.
He further stated that voters whose names are missing from the draft list may lodge complaints with the Election Commission of India until 15 January. Corrections can be made until 7 February, with the final voters’ list scheduled for release on 14 February.
The draft roll has already been uploaded online, and the DM urged voters to check their names. He confirmed that another all-party meeting will be held before hearings commence.
Akash Mukherjee, general secretary of the TMC, said after the meeting that 1,45,696 people would be called for hearings. “So far we are satisfied with the SIR process in our district,” he remarked.
Congress President Debesh Chakraborty also expressed satisfaction with the work undertaken, while BJP leader Prashanta Chakraborty said he would wait for the final list before commenting further, though he too was satisfied with the process so far.