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Punisol, Bankura: For 44 years, Jalilur Rahman worked to bring change in Punisol village of Bankura district. The village, home to a significant Muslim population, has long struggled with low access to education, lack of healthcare awareness, as well as scarce livelihood opportunities. Rahman established the Punisol Ajmiya Gramin Granthagar, an institution that helped villagers gradually move away from superstition and encouraged a scientific and rational outlook within the community.

Rahman, who served as the librarian of the institution, retired six years ago. Now 66, he is bedridden with a neurological illness. In the recently published voter list for West Bengal, an “Under Adjudication” stamp appeared against his name. In fact, several thousand residents of Punisol, including he, earlier received notices for hearings when the draft list of voters was published.

Despite his failing health, Rahman had visited the Onda Block Office multiple times, trying to prove himself a genuine voter of the state.

“With this ailing body, I went to the Onda Block several times and submitted all relevant documents – passport, land papers, retirement pension papers – and yet today I am an under ‘Under Adjudication’ voter. My name has been marked with this stamp at serial number 1232 of Booth Number 133 under the 254 Onda Assembly constituency. Tell me, what could be more painful than this?” Rahman told The Wire in a voice heavy with anguish.

Retired Librarian Jalilur Rahman shows his documents. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.

Rahman’s ordeal did not end there. The Booth Level Officer (BLO) for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) at Booth No. 133 was his daughter, Rabeya Bibi Dalal, a nutrition worker from Punisol. She has been a voter, listed at serial number 457 in Booth No. 130, and while she filled out the SIR form recently, she wrote her father’s name – Jalilur Rahman – as it appeared in the 2002 SIR records, following the prescribed rules.

However, after the voter list was published, Rabiya Bibi’s name was also marked “Under Adjudication”. “How does one explain this?” he said.

Rabeya Bibi Dalal, a resident and BLO of Booth No. 133, Onda Assembly. Her inclusion in the voter list is ‘Under Adjudication’. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.

His anxious query finds an echo in the voices of numerous residents of Punisol village, one of the state’s areas with a large Muslim population. Nearly 90,000 people live in this one village, and around 26,000 are registered voters. Among them, in the electoral roll, 8,600 voters have been marked “Under Adjudication”.

Since the publication of the final voter list on February 28, anxiety among Punisol residents has been mounting steadily as they check their status on the electoral roll. The growing sense of uncertainty has started to affect teenagers and children of the families, even though they are not voters.

Worried residents of Punisol Natungram search for their names in the voter list. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.

Children and adolescents usually enjoy the festive atmosphere surrounding elections – the campaigns by political parties and the gatherings on polling day especially. But this time, hearing the elders in the village talk, many have come to believe that some members of their families may not be able to vote, said Golam Khaja Khan, a resident and health worker with the National Health Mission........

© The Wire