Many unsure of voting rights as SIR deletions split families

Kolkata: Ahead of the assembly polls scheduled next month, the SIR deletions have divided several families and neighbourhoods into two clusters — one will have people from the same families or neighbourhoods who will press the EVM buttons while the other will have some members of the same families or neighbours who will not be allowed to exercise the franchise."My name has been deleted along with my daughter's? Why? Will my wife go alone to cast vote from my family?" Tollygunge resident Sudip Roychoudhury's questions go unanswered since the publication of the first supplementary list on Monday."I have been trying to check my status on the supplementary list desperately but till now there is no clarity. Every time I am logging into the ECI's website, the window is saying ‘no records found'. What does it mean? Does it mean that the EC has stripped me of my voting right? I have been living in Kolkata since my birth in 1965," said the 60-year-old resident of Tollygunge who was marked ‘under adjudication' even after submitting his passport during the SIR hearing. "My daughter Sreeja, who is working in London and mapped to me, is also waiting for clarity on whether she has passed the adjudication test," he added.In the Shyampukur assembly, Bharati Ghosh's name was deleted while her daughter's name was included on the supplementary list. However, her son's name is still pending. In Rashbehari constituency, Dipak Sharma is unable to find his name on the ECI's website. "Some of my neighbours have got their names back on the roll, but I am yet to find my name in the add-on list. I fear it has been deleted," he rued.Binod Patra (55), who lives in New Town, said: "In my family, out of four members, only I was under adjudication. I have been trying to check my name, but it was shown as pending till Wednesday. So, I am very worried about the next steps to follow. My name was there in the 2002 SIR roll, but at that time I was staying in Odisha. After that, I came to Kolkata with my family. During the hearing process, I submitted all the supporting documents, but I don't know why my name was sent for adjudication."Majida Bibi Mandal (60) is the only member of her five-member family whose name was under adjudication and was deleted. Her daughter, Rupa Khatun, was worried about telling her this, as over the last few days her mother had asked her multiple times whether her name would be on the supplementary list."My mother has never missed voting in any election, but this time, when she was told that her name was under scrutiny, she got upset and repeatedly asked whether her name would be included. I don't know how to tell her the truth, but she must know, as the next step cannot be taken without informing her," she said.