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Voter Roll Revision in West Bengal Drives Reverse Migration at Bangladesh Border

A viral clip of a supposed exodus was confirmed to show an October 30 Shyama Puja immersion.

Overview

  • Since the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision began on November 4, BSF and district officials have reported triple‑digit daily movements, with more than 1,600 people recorded crossing back in a matter of days.
  • Border posts including Hakimpur report detaining and pushing back roughly 150–200 people per day after checks, and officials say about 1,200 were processed for return in six recent days.
  • Returnees interviewed on the ground said they had procured Aadhaar, ration cards or voter IDs through intermediaries and now fear verification under the voter roll exercise.
  • The flow has strained BSF and police capacity, leading to delays, coordination with Bangladesh Border Guard for verifications, and ad‑hoc food and shelter support near crossing points.
  • Political analysts caution that deletions tied to verification could affect tightly contested seats in border districts such as North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Malda ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.