63.66 lakh names deleted, 60 lakh under adjudication in post-SIR electoral rolls in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): Around 63.66 lakh names, nearly 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted in West Bengal since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) began in November last year, bringing down the total number of voters in the state to over 7.04 crore ahead of the assembly elections due in April, EC officials said.
The post-SIR rolls, released on Saturday after a 116-day exercise, also show that over 60 lakh electors have been placed in the "under adjudication" category, with their fate to be decided by judicial officers in the coming weeks, a process that could further recalibrate constituency-level equations.
The draft rolls, published on December 16, had already pared down the electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore, deleting over 58 lakh names on grounds of death, migration, duplication and untraceability. Following hearings, scrutiny and disposal of claims and objections, another 5,46,053 deletions were recorded through Form-7 applications, taking the total SIR-linked omissions to around 63.66 lakh.
More than 1.82 lakh electors were added through Form-6 and Form-6A submissions, partially offsetting the deletions. Officials said the figures could still witness marginal changes as fresh inclusions and objections continue to be processed.
Earlier in the day, a senior official of the Chief Electoral Officer's office told PTI that the EC was likely to delete nearly eight lakh names over and above the 58 lakh removed in the draft rolls, taking the total SIR-linked deletions in the state to around 66 lakh.
He had also said that the figures following the post-SIR publication may not be definitive, as further inclusions through Form-6 applications and fresh deletions based on Form-7 objections could alter the overall numbers.
Significantly, around 60.06 lakh voters have been placed in the "under adjudication" category, largely due to what officials described as "logical discrepancies" in their enumeration forms. These names have been retained in the rolls pending adjudication.
Over 58 lakh enumeration forms were not received during the exercise, including cases involving deceased, shifted and duplicate electors, officials said. Of the 7.08 crore names that appeared in the draft rolls, around 6.4 crore have been marked as "approved" so far.
The Election Commission maintained that the SIR -- the first intensive statewide revision since 2002 -- was a statutory clean-up exercise aimed at ensuring a "pure and error-free" roll ahead of a major election.
Beyond aggregate figures, district and constituency-level data underline the scale of the shake-up.
In Bhabanipur constituency, represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, 47,094 names have been struck off -- 44,786 at the draft stage and another 2,324 in the final publication -- while over 14,000 electors have been kept under adjudication.
The total deletions in the constituency are roughly 11,000 fewer than Banerjee's victory margin of over 58,000 votes in the 2021 bypoll.
Nadia district, bordering Bangladesh and often central to debates over migration and citizenship, witnessed around 2.73 lakh deletions. The electorate declined from 44.18 lakh at the start of the SIR to 41.45 lakh in the final rolls.
Bankura saw a net reduction of about 1.18 lakh names. From 30,33,830 voters in November, the draft rolls showed 29,01,009. After further scrutiny, the final figure stands at around 29.15 lakh.
North Kolkata, comprising seven assembly constituencies currently held by the TMC, recorded around 4.07 lakh deletions during the SIR, including 3.9 lakh at the draft stage and another 17,000 in the final list.
Alipurduar registered 1,02,835 deletions, with 11,96,651 names featuring in the final rolls.
In Hooghly, the electorate dipped from 47,75,099 at the beginning of the process to 44,40,293 now, reflecting a total deletion of 3,34,806 names, while 1,73,064 voters remain under adjudication. The draft rolls had pegged the district's electorate at 44,56,224.
The scale of deletions and the unusually large pool of voters under adjudication have turned the SIR into a political flashpoint in a state headed for another polarised contest.
The TMC alleged that "harassment in the name of SIR" had reached extreme levels and warned of political and legal agitation if valid voters were struck off.
The party accused the BJP of attempting to secure electoral gains through deletions, a charge the saffron camp rejected.
The BJP maintained that parties must contest elections on the basis of the finalised rolls, and political outfits should not question a statutory revision exercise.
Yet, beyond rhetoric lies the arithmetic of Bengal's tightly fought contests. In the 2021 assembly elections, several seats were decided by margins of a few thousand votes.
In border districts such as Nadia and North 24 Parganas, and in tribal and urban belts, demographic shifts and migration patterns have historically influenced booth-level outcomes.
A swing of even 2,000-3,000 voters in a closely fought constituency can alter the result.
Political parties have intensified booth-level scrutiny, with cadres poring over printed rolls, cross-checking names and preparing appeals.
For the TMC, which swept north Kolkata in the last assembly election, the 4 lakh-plus deletions in the zone are being assessed against urban turnout patterns and organisational depth.
For the BJP, which has made gains in border and tribal belts in recent years, the adjudication of over 60 lakh pending cases could reshape equations in several districts.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
