SIR divides families across Kolkata: Chosen few celebrate vote as lakhs mourn deletion

Kolkata: The special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll left several families across the city divided on poll day — while a chosen few had the privilege to press their button of choice on the EVM, lakhs mourned the deletion of their names, and shied away from polling stations.

Mariam Zaki experienced the first polling of her life at Hindustan Insurance Building on Central Avenue on Wednesday but she was not excited. Rather, walking out of the polling booth, she hugged her father and grandfather, who brought her to vote, and consoled them as their names have been knocked off the roll.





"Last time, I was in London and could not vote. This time I am in the city and cast the first vote of my life. This could have been a moment of celebration for me, but it was a low-scale affair instead. My father, Imran Zaki, and grandfather, Jalaluddin Ahmed Siddiqui, could not vote as they faced the SIR cut," she said. Zaki lives in a joint family on Weston Street in Bowbazar. Her other family members, however, cast their votes.

Tarun Mandal, a former MP in Jaynagar constituency, remained indoors at his Howrah B Garden home while his wife went to vote. "My name could not pass judicial scrutiny and was deleted. Though I made an appeal in the tribunal, that did not help. On Wednesday, only my wife went to vote and I remained at home. This is both disappointing and humiliating for me," he said.

Ananta Ghosh, a resident of Shyampukur, went to cast his vote while his 67-year-old mother Bharati remained at home as her name was deleted after adjudication. Ghosh said, "Both of us applied online. My question is, when my name was cleared, why was my mother's case rejected? Her name was missing in the 2002 SIR roll, and she mapped herself with my grandmother, which I also did. So, how did one case get cleared but the other didn't?"

Pawan Hari, resident of Beleghata, brought his mother to the polling booth but he had to stand outside as he had lost his voting right. "My mother's name is there but my name has been deleted. The deletion happened even after I provided all documents, from birth certificates to educational certificates. My parents' documents were also submitted. It is painful for me to come to terms with the fact that I could not vote this year," he said.

Suraj Kumar Rabi Das, also an elector standing in a queue at a booth in Beleghata, said, "I am feeling sorry for my uncle and aunt who could not vote this time because of the SIR deletion."


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