Majibar Rahman is helping others vote. “But as a first polling officer myself, I am unable to cast my vote,” says Rahman, a history teacher from Krishnanagar who is on poll duty in the Ranaghat assembly for West Bengal’s second phase of assembly elections on Wednesday.

As Bengal heads into the final phase covering 142 assembly seats, appellate tribunals have approved the inclusion of just 1,468 voters out of approximately 12.8 lakh, including Rahman, who were deleted after adjudication. In the first phase, only 139 deleted voters were reportedly reinstated. For the lakhs still waiting, the message is hard to misread: the window has all but closed.

What makes the situation especially stark is who is caught in it. Among those unable to vote in Wednesday’s election are government school teachers and employees who have spent years facilitating the poll process on behalf of the Election Commission of India. 

‘ECI puropuri byartho’

Ajijul Hoque has been a presiding officer in elections since 1998. A teacher at Krishnanagar Collegiate Government School for 30 years, the 57-year-old has overseen Lok Sabha, panchayat and bypoll elections across the district. This week, he has been posted as presiding officer in Palashipara assembly. It is the first time........

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