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In Bengal, a battle over who gets counted

Draft rolls published last month shed 5.82 million names, the deletion percentage of 7.6% being the lowest among states that go to the polls this summer

Published on: Jan 8, 2026, 06:06:04 IST
By Joydeep Thakur, Dhrubo Jyoti
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For close to 25 years, Bharat Mahato has pulled his trusted rickshaw through the lanes of north Kolkata, expertly swerving between decaying buildings, past sagging balconies and under loops of wires slicing the sky into claustrophobic strips. On the mossy green seat of his hand-drawn rickshaw are often stacked bundles wrapped in cloth, piles of scrap, or metal boxes. A trip earns him around ₹150.

PREMIUMPeople during hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, at a centre in Balurghat, West Bengal on January 2. (PTI)
People during hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, at a centre in Balurghat, West Bengal on January 2. (PTI)

Last month, he got word that a local school teacher had come looking for

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joydeep Thakur

Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dhrubo Jyoti

Dhrubo Jyoti is Deputy Executive Editor at Hindustan Times, where they help oversee the newspaper’s daily news and opinion coverage. They are part of the leadership team of the newspaper and their daily responsibilities include news selection, commissioning and editing, apart from planning and executing special projects. Apart from this, they write on national affairs at the intersection of caste and sexuality, with a focus on elections, politics and the lifeworlds of the caste marginalised. Formally trained in physics from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and Bose Institute, Kolkata, they made a switch to studying journalism from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. Over the past decade at Hindustan Times, they have worked at the National Desk, Page 1 team, Integrated Copy Desk and Special Stories Team, before running the opinion page as views editor for two years, and then moving back as Senior Editor of News Operations. In the past 12 years, they have reported on numerous national and state elections, specialising on caste-informed coverage of major moments in India’s history, and focussing on leading investigations into government accountability and social inequities. Their narrative non-fiction work aims to put Dalit voices at the core of India’s LGBTQIA+ movements.

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