Bengal SIR: TMC won 13 of 20 seats with highest voter deletions

In the BJP’s tally of 119, 28 had a higher number of deletions than the victory margin of the party’s candidates. Of these 28 seats, the TMC had emerged victorious in 26 in 2021, the analysis shows.

Similarly, the TMC won or was on course to win 65 of those 187 seats, of which 18 recorded deletions higher than the victory margin — two seats were won by the Congress and one by Aam Janata Unnayan Party.

The 20 seats with maximum deletions are: Samserganj (74775 deletions, winner TMC); Lalgola (55420, TMC); Bhagabangola (47493, TMC); Raghunathganj (46100, TMC); Metiaburz (39579, TMC); Farakka (38222, Cong); Suti (37965, TMC); Mothabari (37255, TMC); Jangipur (36581, BJP); Ratua (35573, BJP); Karandighi (31562, BJP); Goalpokhar (31384, TMC); Malatipur (29489, TMC); Chopra (27898, TMC); Sujapur (26829, TMC); Ketugram (26780, BJP); Rajarhat New Town (24132, TMC); Basirhat Uttar (23900, TMC); Manickchak (23726, BJP); Monteswar (23423, BJP).

Results and leads were declared Monday for a total of 293 seats in West Bengal, with repolling to be held in Falta on May 21.

The Election Commission had ordered the SIR across the country in June last year, starting with the Bihar Assembly elections followed by nine other states, including West Bengal, and three Union Territories.

The exercise differed from the annual and pre-election Special Summary Revisions, with all registered electors as on the date of the SIR announcement required to fill up enumeration forms and provide documents to prove their eligibility, including citizenship.

In Bengal, the SIR saw a series of unprecedented steps, taken by the EC and ordered by the Supreme Court, which has been hearing a batch of petitions challenging the exercise.

One of those steps was the appointment of judicial officers to decide on the eligibility of electors. A total of 60.06 lakh, or 8.5% of the electors in the final roll published in February, were placed “under adjudication”. After around 700 judges decided on their cases, 27.16 lakh electors were deleted. Lakhs of appeals from those deleted are now pending before 19 Appellate Tribunals appointed on the orders of the Supreme Court.