Unkindest cut: Struck off electoral roll but assigned poll duty by EC for West Bengal elections 2026

KOLKATA: Senior executive magistrate Md Erfan Habib, 41, is currently on election duty in Bengal. Serving as the deputy district election officer (DDEO) of Birbhum, he oversees the accuracy of the electoral roll and provides administrative direction to electoral registration officers (EROs) on voter inclusions and deletions. The irony is, the very Election Commission that has tasked him with election work has stripped him of his right to vote. His login ID, photograph and EPIC number though remain active on the EC’s portal.

Habib was a voter of Burdwan Raina Block II, where his family has lived for generations. In the past he served the EC in various capacities — as BDO of Old Malda and assistant returning officer (ARO) in 2019 and as ERO for 114 South Dum Dum Constituency in 2023-24. After the publication of the draft SIR list, he found his name on the ‘logical discrepancy’ category. During adjudication, he submitted his family’s 150-year-old land records, his passport and service records. Yet, when the supplementary list came out, he found his name deleted from the voters’ list.
Habib is just one among several govt employees in Bengal who have lost their right to vote but have been assigned election duty.

Jahirul Islam, 40, a schoolteacher with 15 years of experience as a presiding officer, says the situation he finds himself in is humiliating. “I am crestfallen. I am running from pillar to post to get my name included. I feel dishonoured among my peers and relatives — as if I am Rohingya,” he told TOI . Despite his exclusion, Islam has completed election training and remains assigned a polling officer for Kandi assembly constituency. His wife, Naina Sultana, also a teacher and a polling officer, continues to be listed as a voter.

Sadekul Karim, 51, a presiding officer for Barasat assembly constituency, says he doesn’t know whether he should queue up before the tribunal to secure his voting right or focus on his role as a polling officer. His confusion is compounded by inconsistencies within his own family — his daughters remain registered voters based on their mapping to him. “If a father’s eligibility determines that of his children, how are my daughters voters while I am not?” he asked.

Munsi Rezaul Karim, 47, a polling officer in Khanakul, says the situation “feels surreal”. During adjudication, he was assured that his name would be automatically included in the voters’ list. “I don’t know how to run a voting process without being a voter,” he said.

Toibur Sekh, 36, who is to serve as a presiding officer for Raghunathganj assembly seat in Murshidabad that votes on April 23, asks, “How can I perform this duty when my eligibility is under question?” In his family, while he and his father have lost their votes, his mother continues to be an eligible voter. Sekh say he has contacted the EC but is yet to get a response.

The EC requires nearly four lakh polling officials, including about a lakh presiding officers, to man booths on election days in Bengal. When asked if the deletion of an officer’s name during the SIR exercise affects their role, a senior EC official stated: “It will not prevent them from joining election-day duties. The law does not stipulate that a presiding or polling officer must be a registered voter.”

Asked if deletions based on citizenship concerns affect eligibility, the official clarified that the EC is not the authority that determines citizenship. “There are other agencies to verify citizenship. Indian citizenship is only one condition for voter enrolment. Names can be deleted for multiple reasons, not just citizenship,” he added. (With inputs from Kaushik Pradhan in Kolkata)