Ranchi/New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary M. A. Baby has written to the Chief Election Commissioner expressing serious concern over the large-scale deletion of names from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He urged that the constitutional right to vote must be guaranteed by the Election Commission of India at any cost.
In his letter, he stated that the party expresses deep anguish, grave concern, and strong protest over the reported developments. According to available information, nearly 9 million voters—around 12 percent of the state’s electorate—have been removed from the rolls. A large number of them were placed under an “under consideration” category, while the promised grievance redressal mechanisms were found to be ineffective and inaccessible.
The CPI(M) alleged that the process appears to be a systematic attempt at large-scale disenfranchisement rather than a routine administrative revision. It claimed that arbitrary criteria such as “logical consistency” were used, with increasing reliance on algorithm-based exclusions instead of transparent, field-level verification. Unlike earlier practices, voters were treated as suspect and burdened with proving their own eligibility.
The letter further noted that the continued inaction of the decision-making mechanism—acknowledged by the Election Commission itself before the Supreme Court of India—has deprived affected individuals of any meaningful relief. It also raised concerns about the lack of transparency, pointing out that the lists were released in formats not conducive to public scrutiny or independent analysis.
Independent assessments, the party claimed, indicate that marginalized communities, particularly Muslims, women, and economically weaker sections, have been disproportionately affected by the process.
The CPI(M) argued that removing voters from the rolls amounts to depriving them of their right to vote under Article 326 of the Constitution of India. It emphasized that the right to vote is a fundamental democratic entitlement linked to equality and dignity, and that large-scale exclusion—especially of vulnerable sections—strikes at the core principles of the Constitution.
Reiterating its strong opposition, the party urged the Election Commission to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected under all circumstances.
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