SDPI Strongly Opposes Deliberate Disenfranchisement of Minorities in West Bengal Elections

Dahlan Baqavi, National Vice President of the Social Democratic Party of India, today strongly opposed the deliberate disenfranchisement of minorities in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections through the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. In Nandigram constituency, where the community forms only 25 percent of the population, 95.5 percent of the deleted voters in the supplementary lists are Muslims according to the analysis of Election Commission data. This glaring disproportionality exposes a deeply biased and unfair process.

The pattern continues across the state with nearly 91 lakh voters removed overall and the highest deletions recorded in the Muslim majority Murshidabad district. Supreme Court monitored tribunals have further highlighted the flaws by restoring the name of Congress candidate Mehtab Sheikh from Farakka after the Commission failed to provide any valid reason for his deletion. Up to two million voters stand excluded under this mechanism, seriously undermining the democratic rights of citizens.

The Social Democratic Party of India demands an immediate independent inquiry into these deletions, full restoration of all eligible names before polling, and complete accountability from the Election Commission. We stand firmly with the affected communities and urge all democratic forces to unite against this assault on the constitutional right to vote.