Bengaluru: As West Bengal begins a mop-up exercise for voters left out of special intensive revision (SIR), migrant workers in Bengaluru fear another financial setback if they have to return home to restore their voting rights. Many said their documents were verified during hearings, but their names were missing from the final rolls.Tubrahalli and neighbouring areas in the city’s IT corridor are home to thousands of migrant workers employed in construction, domestic work and delivery services. About 13,000 Bengali families live here, said Sharifull Sekh, vice-president of Bengali Kalyani Trust. He estimated that 3,000 had lost their voting rights during SIR.Residents said they had spent an average of Rs 10,000 each travelling to West Bengal to respond to notices and vote, only to find their names missing from the rolls. The workers said they will go back if called for the mop-up, even if it means losing wages and spending nearly a month’s salary.Having moved to Bengaluru two to five years ago, many lack permanent residence certificates that could support enrolment here through Form 6. Most prefer to reclaim their voting rights in West Bengal.The deletions have not affected access to ration so far, said Sagari Khatun from Murshidabad, whose seven-year-old son has thalassaemia. “No one has reached out yet. But if they call us even now, I will go and have my voter ID restored,” she said.Saheb Ali, whose name was flagged for a “logical discrepancy” because his father’s name was spelt differently in official records, said he will temporarily give up construction work, which pays twice as much as he can earn back home, to correct the error. “Everyone in the family but my sister and I were allowed to vote,” he said.Sheefil Ali Shek’s wife, a domestic worker, also lost her voting rights. “The shock came when she went to the polling booth and her name was not on the roll. We went thrice for SIR hearings and documentation, each time spending Rs 10,000 on transport,” he said.Anarul Vishyas from Nadia in West Bengal said his hearing was completed and he was told to go back, but his name did not appear in the final rolls. Tea stall owner Adur Ali Shek said several migrant voters faced similar experiences, with documents collected and voters sent home without officials clarifying discrepancies on the spot. Some errors appeared glaring. Jalema Bai (35) was recorded as 60, her husband said. Manowara Kha, one of nine children, was flagged because more than six children were linked to her mother.
