NANDIGRAM: Leader of the opposition in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari warned Muslim migrant workers in Nandigram, reminding them that “they would have to return to BJP-governed states” for work after the votes. Speaking at rallies in Sonachura and Gokulnagar on Sunday, the BJP candidate asked the workers to “mend their ways”.Saying that over 30,000 people from Nandigram were employed in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Odisha, Adhikari singled out Muslims and said they “could not afford to make a mistake”.“There are 30,000 migrant workers… In Gujarat, 1,100 Muslim young men from Nandigram reside. In Odisha, 800 Muslim young men reside. In Maharashtra, 3,300 Muslim young men reside. Whose govt is in Odisha? Whose govt is in Maharashtra? Whose govt is in Gujarat? BJP’s. Don’t make a mistake!”Adhikari added: “Mend your ways… so that there are no problems after May 4. You can give threatening looks and say ‘Joy Bangla’, but I am writing down everything.”The remarks drew immediate criticism from Trinamool. Nandigram TMC candidate Pabitra Kar, campaigning in Gokulnagar on Monday, said Adhikari’s politics was based only on “threats and intimidation”.“As an elected representative, it is his responsibility that everyone in his constituency lives in peace. He has done exactly the opposite. But Nandigram residents will reply to his threats in the EVM,” Kar told TOI.A TMC spokesperson said the party would report the matter to the Election Commission, even while questioning if the poll panel would act in a non-partisan manner.Meanwhile, an analysis by Kolkata-based public policy research organisation Sabar Institute found Muslims made up 95.5% of names deleted from Nandigram’s voter rolls in SIR, even though they account for about 25% of the constituency’s population. Only 4.5% of those removed were non-Muslims.Sabar Institute director Sabir Ahamed said the disparity emerged during adjudication, not initial enumeration. ASDD deletions during the Dec enumeration phase were around 33%, broadly in line with the minority population share, but the later stage showed a sharp divergence.In Adhikari’s speeches on Sunday, he also pointed out that SIR had led to the deletion of eight thousand Muslim voters and that Hindu votes had increased by exactly the same number.
