Over 27 lakh out: EC releases first data of deletions after adjudication
45% of 60 lakh under adjudication deleted; highest cut by percentage in Matua-dominated Nadia
The letter said that since MCC provisions were in force, no fresh release of funds on welfare schemes should be made without ECI’s prior approval. (File Photo) Of the 60,06,675 names under adjudication in West Bengal after they had been left out of electoral rolls, 27,16,393, or 45.22%, stand “deleted”, as per the first such data shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
On Monday midnight, the ECI released its final Supplementary List after the adjudication process began a month ago.
This means that the total number of voters in Bengal has fallen to 6.77 crore from 7.66 crore at the start of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. In other words, 89 lakh people have been removed from voter lists, a fall of 11.62%.
The highest number of cases under adjudication were in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district (11 lakh), followed by Malda (8.28 lakh), South 24 Parganas (5.22 lakh) and North 24 Parganas (5 lakh). Jhargram and Kalimpong had the fewest pending cases at 6,682 and 6,790 cases, respectively.
As per the ECI’s district-wise data, in terms of percentage, the most number of voters now stand deleted in Matua-dominated Nadia (77.86%). The other high-deletion districts are Hooghly (70.33%), which has a high proportion of Muslims, (high proportion of muslim and matua) followed by Purba Bardhaman (57.4%), North 24 Parganas (55.08%) and Paschim Bardhaman (53.72%).
| S. No. | District Name | Action to be Taken | Found Eligible | Found Not Eligible | Action Taken | Number of Individuals e-Signed | Number of parts for which list has been generated | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible | Not Eligible | Total | Completed | Total | ||||||
| 1 | COOCHBEHAR | 238107 | 117382 | 120725 | 238107 | 117382 | 120725 | 238107 | 2232 | 2482 |
| 2 | JALPAIGURI | 108192 | 72836 | 35356 | 108192 | 72836 | 35356 | 108192 | 1730 | 1739 |
| 3 | DARJEELING | 80006 | 35776 | 44230 | 80006 | 35776 | 44230 | 80006 | 1067 | 1356 |
| 4 | UTTAR DINAJPUR | 480341 | 303261 | 176972 | 480233 | 302679 | 176881 | 479560 | 2083 | 2133 |
| 5 | DAKSHIN DINAJPUR | 132258 | 55490 | 76768 | 132258 | 55490 | 76768 | 132258 | 1155 | 1313 |
| 6 | MALDA | 828127 | 588657 | 239375 | 828032 | 588642 | 239366 | 828008 | 2768 | 2947 |
| 7 | MURSHIDABAD | 1101145 | 633671 | 455137 | 1088808 | 616273 | 436656 | 1052929 | 4941 | 5201 |
| 8 | NADIA | 267940 | 59314 | 208626 | 267940 | 59069 | 207436 | 266505 | 3287 | 4471 |
| 9 | NORTH 24 PARGANAS | 591252 | 265077 | 325666 | 590743 | 263418 | 321414 | 584832 | 7160 | 8337 |
| 10 | SOUTH 24 PARGANAS | 522042 | 295739 | 222929 | 518668 | 279760 | 213475 | 493235 | 6300 | 7332 |
| 11 | KOLKATA SOUTH | 78657 | 50049 | 28468 | 78517 | 49419 | 27886 | 77305 | 1027 | 1056 |
| 12 | KOLKATA NORTH | 61236 | 22071 | 39164 | 61235 | 21428 | 37871 | 59299 | 1073 | 1642 |
| 13 | HOWRAH | 289714 | 157558 | 132151 | 289709 | 157294 | 132146 | 289440 | 3756 | 4092 |
| 14 | HOOGHLY | 171778 | 50965 | 120813 | 171778 | 50915 | 120475 | 171390 | 2808 | 4627 |
| 15 | PURBO MEDINIPUR | 80176 | 60533 | 19572 | 80105 | 58797 | 18922 | 77719 | 2600 | 2759 |
| 16 | PASCHIM MEDINIPUR | 103497 | 51006 | 52277 | 103283 | 49859 | 50750 | 100609 | 2588 | 3462 |
| 17 | PURULIA | 33577 | 27635 | 5942 | 33577 | 27174 | 5898 | 33072 | 1850 | 1338 |
| 18 | BANKURA | 39117 | 32584 | 6533 | 39117 | 31911 | 6231 | 38142 | 1714 | 1614 |
| 19 | PURBA BARDHAMAN | 365539 | 150540 | 209805 | 360345 | 149279 | 208991 | 358270 | 3100 | 4177 |
| 20 | BIRBHUM | 202059 | 120000 | 82059 | 202059 | 119307 | 81787 | 201094 | 2254 | 2539 |
| 21 | ALIPURDUAR | 80494 | 44416 | 36078 | 80494 | 44416 | 36078 | 80494 | 1225 | 1325 |
| 22 | KALIMPONG | 6790 | 4383 | 2407 | 6790 | 4383 | 2407 | 6790 | 222 | 270 |
| 23 | JHARGRAM | 6682 | 5442 | 1240 | 6682 | 5442 | 1240 | 6682 | 575 | 412 |
| 24 | PASCHIM BARDHAMAN | 137949 | 63734 | 74100 | 137834 | 63143 | 73927 | 137070 | 2328 | 2407 |
| Total | 6006675 | 3268119 | 2716393 | 5984512 | 3224092 | 2676916 | 5901008 | 59843 | 69031 | |
However, minority-dominated Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur and South 24 Parganas, where the number of adjudication cases were among the highest, have seen fewer deletions in terms of percentage, at 28.91%, 41.33%, 36.84% and 42.70% respectively – though in terms of numbers, their share is high.
Kolkata-North and Kolkata-South also have high deletions, at 28.97% and 27.31% of total electors, respectively.
The adjudication was carried out by 705 judicial officers under the supervision of the Supreme Court. On Monday, the apex court did not accept a plea to extend the time before electoral lists were frozen.
The SIR started on October 27 last year, and after the final list was published on February 28, the total number of voters had fallen to 7.04 crore, including 60.06 lakh electors whose names were flagged for review by Supreme Court-appointed judicial officers.
A senior ECI official said, “People whose names have been deleted after adjudication can further challenge this before tribunals.”
As of Monday midnight, the voter list for the first phase of polls, on April 23, stands frozen. Those voting on April 29 and “deleted” after the adjudication process have time till April 9 to be heard before tribunals and added back.
However, the tribunals are yet to start functioning.
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