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Even as CM Mamata Banerjee has vowed to fight to restore the electors' rights, a sense of abandonment is surfacing among those who have been disenfranchised
 "SIR country's biggest recent scam, says Mamata at Bengal poll rally")
Rokina Bewa sat on a patch of grass outside the Land Management Training Centre in Murshidabad district’s Baharampur, clutching a bundle of photocopied documents. She had come to submit papers for an appeal against the deletion of her son’s name from the electoral rolls. The photocopying had cost her ₹200 — a significant expense for someone with no regular income — but they were necessary for the appeal. “Is it fair that I should have to spend this much? Can I afford it?” she asked repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes. Rokina became a widow about three years ago. Her son, a mason, finds work only intermittently. The uncertainty of what might happen if his name remains off the electoral rolls weighs heavily on her. Rokina Bewa sat on a patch of grass outside the Land Management Training Centre in Murshidabad district’s Baharampur, clutching a bundle of photocopied documents. She had come to submit papers for an appeal against the deletion of her son’s name from the electoral rolls. The photocopying had cost her ₹200 — a significant expense for someone with no regular income — but they were necessary for the appeal. “Is it fair that I should have to spend this much? Can I afford it?” she asked repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes. Rokina became a widow about three years ago. Her son, a mason, finds work only intermittently. The uncertainty of what might happen if his name remains off the electoral rolls weighs heavily on her. Rokina Bewa sat on a patch of grass outside the Land Management Training Centre in Murshidabad district’s Baharampur, clutching a bundle of photocopied documents. She had come to submit papers for an appeal against the deletion of her son’s name from the electoral rolls. The photocopying had cost her ₹200 — a significant expense for someone with no regular income — but they were necessary for the appeal. “Is it fair that I should have to spend this much? Can I afford it?” she asked repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes. Rokina became a widow about three years ago. Her son, a mason, finds work only intermittently. The uncertainty of what might happen if his name remains off the electoral rolls weighs heavily on her.
First Published: Apr 17 2026 | 3:13 PM IST
