Nandigram voter row 95% of deleted names in SIR list are Muslims

A recent study has highlighted a stark imbalance in voter deletions in Nandigram, the East Midnapore Assembly constituency represented by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. While Muslims make up about a fourth of the electorate, they account for 95.5% of names removed from the supplementary electoral lists. The disproportion has raised concerns among researchers and civil society groups studying the SIR (Special Summary Revision) process.

The Election Commission has published ten post-SIR supplementary lists since March 23, deleting a total of 2,826 names from the Nandigram rolls, including 2,700 Muslim voters. Experts have flagged this as an unusually high rate of deletion for a single community, given their overall share in the electorate.

Muslims constituted approximately 26% of Nandigram’s electorate during the 2021 Assembly elections. The study indicates that political motives may have driven the SIR process, aiming to reduce Muslim voter participation.. Many of the deleted voters are unlikely to have their appeals processed in time to vote in the upcoming polls.

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95% of deleted Nandigram voters are Muslims, study flags bias

The SIR exercise began on October 27, 2025, covering nine states and three Union territories. In Bengal, the draft rolls published in December excluded over 58 lakh voters marked as dead, duplicate, shifted, or absent (ASDD), among whom Muslims made up roughly 33%. However, the recent deletions in Nandigram far exceed this proportion, highlighting the anomaly.

Post-SIR rolls published on February 28 placed over 10,500 Nandigram voters under adjudication. Researchers noted that technical constraints have slowed detailed analysis of these cases. Machine learning tools used to process names under adjudication often fail to identify Muslim-identifiable names, leaving their final status unclear.

Nandigram gained national attention during the 2021 Assembly elections, when Suvendu Adhikari narrowly defeated Mamata Banerjee by under 2,000 votes. The contest was heavily influenced by religious polarization, and allegations of electoral irregularities are still pending before the Calcutta High Court.

Residents affected by deletions, like Jafar Hussain, 39, have filed appeals to restore their voting rights. Many fear that bureaucratic delays will prevent them from participating in the upcoming election. Previous studies by the Sabar Institute also found that Muslim-identifiable names were disproportionately targeted in voter list corrections across several Calcutta constituencies.

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