MOTHABARI (MALDA): Hundreds of voters whose names were deleted during the Special Identity Revision (SIR) exercise mobbed a Times of India correspondent at Mothabari in Bengal's Malda district on Thursday, polling day, asking whether he was there to "enlist" their names.
In the first week of this month, this village made headlines after aggrieved voters held judicial officers engaged in SIR work hostage for hours. Since then, Mothabari has seen a cascade of developments: an NIA probe, multiple arrests, deployment of central forces, and a relentless political blame game.
Matiur Rahman submitted all his documents, only to discover his name — along with those of two family members — had been struck off. "While the fortunate ones have gone to the booths, we are restricted from even stepping onto the road today. Is this democracy?" he said.
Samiul Ahmed admitted to feeling "guilty." He said, "My son and I could vote, but my niece couldn't. How can we rejoice?" Rajiul Mahaldar was blunt: "This is a black day for democracy." Dilip Sk (60) was still trying to make sense of his exclusion. His son Azad's name featured on the rolls. "How is my son there if I am not?" he said.
There were unusually thin queues outside booths — some places wore a deserted look after the first two hours. In one booth, the electorate had shrunk from 1,116 to 592. In another, the number dropped from 1,005 to 577. Almost all valid voters cast their ballots. Mothabari clocked Malda's highest turnout at 92.3% based on trends till 5pm.
