Millions in India’s Bengal risk losing welfare benefits after vote deletion
Key takeaways
- A controversial revision of electoral rolls removed millions of names.
- xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo.
- Ever since his name was deleted from the electoral rolls in India’s West Bengal state, the 40-year-old railway construction worker fears he could lose more than just his right to vote.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A controversial revision of electoral rolls removed millions of names. Now, the new BJP government in West Bengal state says they are not eligible for government aid.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo. A polling officer checks the voter list before elections in West Bengal state, in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. More than nine million voters were removed from the rolls before the vote, and now, many risk losing government subsidies, too [Bikas Das/AP Photo]By Arjumand ShaheenPublished On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026For weeks now, Antu Sheikh has been going through a pile of documents stacked in a soiled plastic bag.
Ever since his name was deleted from the electoral rolls in India’s West Bengal state, the 40-year-old railway construction worker fears he could lose more than just his right to vote.