-1773575097621_d.png "Bengal polls: SIR, infiltration, corruption to dominate campaign rhetoric")
Bengal polls: SIR, infiltration, corruption to dominate campaign rhetoric
With the poll season in West Bengal now officially underway, several issues are expected to dominate the campaign rhetoric of political parties in the weeks ahead. SIR/Citizenship anxiety: The publication of post-SIR electoral rolls has triggered one of the most significant pre-election developments in the state in recent years, as the revision pruned nearly 63.66 lakh names from the voter list ahead of the assembly polls. With the electorate shrinking from 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore, the exercise has dramatically altered the state`s electoral landscape and introduced a new element of political uncertainty just as the campaign season begins. Apart from the deletions, around 60.06 lakh additional names are under adjudication, indicating that the voter list remains in flux even as political parties gear up for the polls. The churn has forced parties to reassess their booth-level arithmetic, particularly in districts where large numbers of deletions have been reported. The deletions are also concentrated in several border districts and urban belts â¿¿ areas that are electorally sensitive and politically contested. Infiltration: When PM …
