Trinamool Councillor Protests at Crematorium After Being Declared "Dead" in Electoral Rolls

The Election Commission excluded 58,20,898 names according to official data.

Kolkata:

A Trinamool Congress councillor dramatically entered a crematorium near Kolkata on Tuesday, demanding his own last rites be performed after discovering the Election Commission had listed him among the deceased in draft electoral rolls.

The incident occurred following the release of a booth-wise list of dead and migrated voters ahead of West Bengal's draft electoral rolls publication.

Surya Dey, who serves as the TMC councillor for Ward 18 in Dankuni Municipality, expressed shock upon finding his name categorized among the "dead" despite having properly completed and submitted his enumeration form to the booth-level officer during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

"Since the Commission has declared me dead, they should complete the process," Dey told reporters as he arrived at Kalipur crematorium surrounded by supporters. "Let the officials come and cremate me." He characterized the situation as administrative incompetence with potentially serious implications.

"As an elected public representative, if I can be shown dead on paper while very much alive, imagine what might happen to ordinary voters," he remarked.

Dey directly accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of orchestrating what he described as a "conspiracy" behind the deletion of his name.

The councillor emphasized that he had fulfilled all procedural requirements under the SIR, including submission of necessary forms and documents during the enumeration drive.

"Despite complete compliance, my name has been struck off. This goes beyond a simple clerical error—it's dangerous," he alleged.

News of the incident quickly spread from the crematorium to various social media platforms.

TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty highlighted the case on Facebook, writing: "Dankuni Municipality Ward 18 councillor Surya Dey, resident of Chanditala Assembly constituency. Serial number 40, Booth number 226. According to the voter list on Tuesday, he is dead. Is this SIR or a farce?" The Election Commission has not yet addressed this specific allegation.

This incident occurred on a politically significant day when the Election Commission published West Bengal's draft electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision exercise. The revision resulted in the deletion of over 58 lakh names based on various grounds including death, migration, duplication, and non-submission of enumeration forms.

Official data confirms that 58,20,898 names were removed, reducing the total electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore after the SIR process conducted between November 4 and December 11.

These widespread deletions have impacted several prominent assembly segments and intensified political divisions, setting the stage for a contentious verification and hearing phase ahead of state elections scheduled for early next year.

Standing at the crematorium, the TMC councillor emphasized his point: "I walked here myself. I am breathing, talking, protesting. If this is how voters are being treated, democracy itself is being taken to the pyre."