Voters’ SIR anxiety raises questions on the exercise

Voters’ SIR anxiety raises questions on the exercise
A turnout of almost 93%, in first phase of Bengal polls, sounds like a win for democracy. It’s a record for any poll, ever, in India. Sceptics say this is a sleight of numbers. Since massive deletions during SIR reduced the voter base, turnout percentage was bound to look rosier. Yes, but despite deletions, 6% more votes were cast on Thursday than in 2021. Clearly, Bengal has voted with urgency.

Why?

From all accounts, a current of anxiety drove the turnout. Bengali migrant workers, rushing home to vote, said in interviews that voting this time was key to avoiding the ‘Bangladeshi’ label. When they work away from home, Aadhaar and voter cards are their only identifiers. Amid the SIR confusion, the idea took hold that absentee voters would be struck off electoral rolls. In essence, Thursday’s record turnout reflected a struggle to protect citizenship and associated rights.

This didn’t happen by design, of course, but the roughshod conduct of SIR was bound to cause misgivings. State-wide, some 27L voter appeals against deletion are pending. This is disenfranchisement by procedure. All or most of them may eventually be found eligible to vote in future, but they’ve been denied a role in shaping Bengal’s 2026 mandate. Is this a win for electoral democracy?

Voltaire said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good”, and EC’s zeal to hold a perfect election in Bengal is perhaps becoming counterproductive. Its orders to limit motorcycle use in Kolkata, and ban pillion riders, have drawn Calcutta HC’s attention. When EC declares four dry days before voting, isn’t it infantilising voters? For a true celebration of democracy, voters should be full of enthusiasm. But if they’re driven by apprehension, everyone must introspect.

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