An analysis of the names deleted during the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Kolkata and its adjoining regions of Behala, Salt Lake and Newtown reveals that the most common surnames excluded during the electoral exercise are ‘Das’ and ‘Singh’.
The analysis of the names deleted during the first phase of SIR by Kolkata based Sabar Institute, highlighted that ‘Das’ comprises 16.73% of the names deleted and persons with ‘Singh’ surnames comprise 12.11% deletions followed by ‘Shaw’ which has 7.82% of deletions.
The other surnames which have figured in the analysis of deletions are ‘Roy’ 6.24 %, ‘Khatoon’ 5.03 %, ‘Yadav’ 4.84%, ‘Begum’ 4.84%, ‘Ram’ 4.23%, ‘Sharma’ 4.07%. ‘Mondal’ 3.91% and ‘Ghosh’ 3.81% among others.
“The surname analysis indicates that predominantly non-Bengali surnames have been removed during the first phase of SIR. Overall, male names have been excluded to a much greater extent, suggesting that single male migrants, likely from North Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have been the most affected during the exercise,” Ashin Chakraborty from the Sabar Institute studied and analysed the deletions on the basis of the ECI data.
Mr. Chakraborty said that 17 Assembly constituencies were analysed in Kolkata and adjoining including Bhabanipur and Kolkata Port. A surname analysis of Bhabanipur Assembly constituency reveals that ‘Das’ comprises 18.81% of the deleted names, the second highest deletions are people with ‘Singh’ surname which amounts to 13% of deletions, followed by ‘Yadav’ 7.63% and ‘Roy’ 7.34% deletions. Bhabanipur is the constituency represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In Kolkata Port Assembly seat, the maximum deletions are people with ‘Singh’ surname which comprise 13.27% followed by ‘Khatoon’ which is 8.41%. This Assembly seat is represented by Kolkata’s Mayor and senior Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim.
An earlier analysis done by Sabar Institute had pointed out that Assembly constituencies in West Bengal with higher percentage of Muslim population have lower share of unmapped voter in first phase of SIR in West Bengal.
In the draft electoral rolls published on December 16 after the first phase of SIR, names of 58,20,899 voters were struck off the electoral rolls, reducing the electorate to 7.08 crore in West Bengal