Six Bengal residents appeal to President after voter list deletion amid SIR row

Six residents of Arambagh in West Bengal’s Hooghly district have submitted a distress representation to President Droupadi Murmu after their names were allegedly removed from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, officials said.

The applicants approached the President through the Arambagh Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), submitting documents in support of their claim. The matter relates to Ward No. 6 of Arambagh Municipality , where 206 names were reportedly struck off during the revision process.

Among them is Taibunnesa Begum, a former government school headmistress, who said she holds valid records including pension papers and a passport but was still removed from the voter list. The group alleged that the deletion has created severe uncertainty and fear of being sent to detention camps after exclusion from voter rolls .

The applicants, accompanied by a local councillor, submitted what officials described as a voluntary death plea , stating they would “rather seek death than face detention”.

The incident comes amid a wider controversy over the SIR electoral roll revision in West Bengal , which has triggered allegations of large-scale wrongful deletions ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Reports suggest nearly 90–91 lakh names may have been removed statewide , significantly reducing the electorate.

The issue has intensified political tensions. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress have criticised the exercise, alleging genuine voters are being wrongly deleted and asserting that no detention camps will be allowed in Bengal .

The BJP has defended the process as a necessary clean-up of electoral rolls to remove ineligible entries, making it a key political flashpoint.