Kolkata: The TMC leadership has decided to instruct its booth-level agents to carry out fresh, door-to-door scrutiny of deleted voters’ names in Bhabanipur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s assembly constituency, after nearly 45,000 electors were struck off from the draft rolls under the SIR exercise, party sources said.
According to Election Commission data, Bhabanipur had 2,06,295 voters as of January 2025. The draft rolls now carry 1,61,509 names, indicating that 44,787 voters, nearly 21.7 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted.
The Commission on Tuesday published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the special intensive revision (SIR), deleting the names of more than 58 lakh voters on various grounds, including death and migration, and redrawing voter profiles across districts and border belts ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.
TMC miffed
The TMC is miffed over a large number of voters been marked “dead”, “shifted” or “absent” by the poll panel.
“The party leadership made it clear that no valid voter’s name should be deleted under any circumstances. Every deleted name must be physically verified,” a TMC source said.
Bhabanipur comprises Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards 63, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77 and 82. The sources said wards 70, 72 and 77 recorded particularly high deletions, with ward 77, a minority-dominated area, flagged for special attention during the scrutiny.
Bhabanipur, a dense urban constituency, has a sizeable population of residents originally from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
With the hearing process on claims and objections expected to begin shortly, the party has directed local leadership to stand by affected voters during verification.
Mamata to meet TMC booth agents
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will address a mega meeting of the party’s booth-level agents (BLAs) to chart its voter-list strategy for the second phase of the SIR.
The meeting scheduled at Netaji Indoor Stadium is aimed at strengthening the role of booth-level party workers in claims and objections, ground-level verification and voter assistance during hearings.
According to TMC sources, while the party has around 69,000 BLAs across the state, the proposed meeting will primarily involve booth-level agents and local leaders from Kolkata and surrounding districts, along with those holding organisational responsibilities.
“The chief minister is expected to give clear directions on booth-level data verification, assistance to voters during the claims and objections process, and coordination with Election Commission officials,” said a senior south Kolkata TMC leader.
Party sources said Banerjee is also likely to stress that voters should not face unnecessary harassment during hearings, and that booth workers must proactively help people with documentation, form-filling and follow-up.
