The Locked Gates of Park Circus

Veterans and academics lead an indefinite sit-in at Park Circus as 60 lakh citizens find their voting rights suspended under "adjudication". Despite restricted access, the movement is surging as families demand immediate reinstatement to the electoral rolls.

By Shabina Akhtar in Kolkata

Kolkata: The historic Park Circus Maidan, once the epicentre of the 2020 anti-CAA movement, is again echoing with the chants of resistance. But this time, the “new address” for a growing sit-in protest belongs to a surprising demographic: retired government employees, professors and career professionals who find themselves erased from India’s democratic fabric.

As of March 10, 2026, the indefinite dharna against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive entered its second week. The atmosphere is thick with a mix of betrayal and bureaucratic nightmare. Protesters allege that the SIR drive—marketed as a ‘clean-up’ of the electoral rolls—is a calculated disenfranchisement of legitimate voters ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

The ‘Doomed List’: Professionals Turned “Adjudicated” Strangers

The numbers are staggering. According to official data, nearly 63.66-lakh names have been deleted from the West Bengal voter list since November 2025. Another 60-lakh people have been placed under “adjudication”. These individuals are currently in a legal grey zone; while their names are in the system, their right to vote is suspended pending a rigorous verification process.

Among those sitting under the Maidan’s pagoda is a former state government employee who expressed disbelief at his exclusion. “I have been a former state government employee; I have a valid passport, and other needed documents as prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), which I have furnished before the officials appointed at the hearing, and still my name has made it to the adjudication list,” he stated.

Former central government employee Sheikh Muniruddin shared a similar ordeal regarding his family. “Can you beat this? My wife’s name was in the adjudication list. We transferred the case to Kolkata and presented all the documents during the hearing. Her name was cleared from the adjudication list. But, surprisingly, back in our native place, she has been put on the doomed list.”

The sense of vulnerability extends even to those currently on the rolls.

Protester Sajid-Ur Rahman highlighted the unpredictability of the exercise: “At present, my name is not in the adjudication list. However, given the fact that the notices are being managed as per the convenience of the election commission, there is no guarantee about whose name will surface in the next list.”

Professor Saifullah of Aliah University, whose name — along with several other professors from the university — has been placed under adjudication, also joined the protest at Park Circus Maidan.

The inclusion of several Aliah University professors in the adjudication list has further intensified concerns among academics, who say the exercise risks disenfranchising even educated and well-documented voters.

Closed Gates and Rising Stakes

The logistics of the protest itself have become a point of contention. Unlike the 2020 movement where the Maidan welcomed all, the main gates are currently locked, forcing protesters through a narrow side exit. Activists like Zeeshan suspect this is a deliberate attempt to stifle the movement’s growth.

However, the momentum appears to be shifting. Following International Women’s Day on March 8, attendance has surged. The SIR Virodhi Dharna Mancha, led by Shampa Shireen, has vowed not to retreat until every “adjudicated” voter is reinstated.

Nousheen Baba Khan, who has been present at the protest site almost every day, said the SIR drive is anti-Constitution and disproportionately affects the poor, women, Dalits, Tribals and minorities. “Even BLOs have their names under adjudication. This faulty process is harassing ordinary citizens and wasting public money,” she said.

Shireen pointed out that the “logical discrepancies” being cited are often clerical errors made by the ECI’s own officials in previous years.

“We are protesting here for 60 lakh people who have been put under adjudication,” Shireen declared. “Why are these people being hounded for no mistakes of their own? Why are their voting rights under threat?”

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who was recently in Kolkata, was greeted with black flag protests wherever he went—from his hotel to a temple visit.

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Shabina Akhtar is a senior journalist based in Kolkata.

Courtesy enewsroom.in