Election Commission officials assist voters at the Technical Support Camp for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls-2026 in Sonagachi, Kolkata on December 9, 2025. | Photo credit: PTI
Assembly constituencies in West Bengal with a higher percentage of Muslim population have a lower proportion of unmapped voters in the first phase of the Special Intensive Review (SIR) in West Bengal, a study by the Kolkata-based SABAR Institute has found.
The Election Commission of India on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) released the draft electoral rolls of West Bengal post-SIR, with the names of 58,000 voters removed from the existing electoral rolls in the state.
The analysis found that the 20 assembly constituencies with the highest share of unmapped population have an average Muslim population of 13.75%, which is much lower than the average Muslim population in the state which was 27% in the last census.
The latest SIR status report from West Bengal shows a clear pattern: the proportion of unmapped voters actually declines as the Muslim population grows. This directly undermines the “Muslim infiltrator” narrative
Instead, the highest concentrations of unregistered voters are found in… pic.twitter.com/Jqycgs1ioV
— SABAR Institute (@SabarInstitute_) December 15, 2025
Assembly constituencies with higher unmapped population are mostly located in Kolkata and adjoining districts like North 24 Parganas and Howrah. In Kolkata, the assembly constituencies are Kolkata Port, Bhabanipur, Rashbehari and Kolkata Port. In North 24 Parganas, the constituencies are Bongaon Uttar, Ashoknagar, Jagatdal, Rajarhat Gopalpur, Bangaon Uttar Madhyamgram, Dum Dum Uttar and Panihati.
In contrast, the top 20 assembly constituencies with the lowest share of unmapped population show a very different picture and have a significant number of Muslim voters, SABAR Institute researchers pointed out.
These Assembly constituencies include Domkal (which has one of the highest Muslim populations in the state at around 85%), Suti, Hariharpara and Rejinagar – all four located in Murshidabad, a district where the Muslim population is about 70%; Ratua and Sujapur in Malda with a high Muslim population; Magrahat Purba, Magrahat Paschim, Patharpratima and Mandirbazar are located in South 24 Parganas and Moyna and Kanthi Uttar in Purba Medinipur District.
The researchers said that on average, these precincts have a Muslim population of around 40%, far above the state average of 27%, suggesting that precincts with higher Muslim populations have a lower proportion of unregistered voters.
Ashin Chakraborty, a researcher at the institute, said the data that emerged from the first phase of the SIR challenge is the dominant political narrative. “For years, a section of big and influential leaders have claimed that Muslim infiltrators have entered West Bengal and are voting illegally. But these evidence-based figures clearly show that the reality is different,” he said.
Mr. Chakraborty suggested that Muslims are less likely to be affected by voter mapping issues because most of them have the required documents. “If the special intensive review leads to widespread exclusion, it will not be Muslims who will be hit the hardest. The data shows that the Matuas are likely to face the maximum exclusion because they are disproportionately represented among unmapped voters,” he added.
The Matus are a social group that largely includes Namashudras who have immigrated from Bangladesh over the past few decades. The Hindu refugee community, living mostly in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, is worried about the SIR as they lack older data. Concerns about SIR in the past few weeks prompted the Matuas to apply for citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.
Published – 17 Dec 2025 21:31 IST
