2 lakh residents, only 2,073 registered voters in Kolkata's Gulshan Colony; Draft list triggers debate

A major political storm has erupted in Kolkata’s Gulshan Colony, located in the Anandpur police station area, following the publication of the draft voter list. Despite a population survey by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation suggesting that approximately 1.95 lakh to 2 lakh people reside in the area, the Election Commission's official records show only 2,073 registered voters. This massive gap has led to intense scrutiny during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, with questions being raised about the citizenship and origins of the vast majority of the residents.

The tension escalated further when the draft list revealed that 219 names from the already small pool of 2,073 voters in Gulshan Colony had been excluded. While nearly 548 names were omitted from the broader cluster—including parts of West Chaubaga, Nonadanga, and VIP Nagar—the focus remains on the minority-dominated sections of 149/301, 302, and 303. Field reports suggest that many residents are migrants from other states who possess no local voting rights, while in other cases, different individuals are reportedly living in houses still registered under previous occupants' names.

The BJP has launched a scathing attack, with councilor Sajal Ghosh labeling the colony a "hiding place for criminals and illegal Bangladeshis." The party claims that the area is used by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) for illicit activities, pointing to a violent clash between two syndicates that occurred on September 11 as proof of the area’s volatility. The saffron camp argues that the low voter count despite a high population is clear evidence of illegal infiltration that needs urgent verification by central agencies.

Countering these allegations, TMC leaders, including Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and local councilor Sushanta Kumar Ghosh, have slammed the BJP for "spreading misinformation." They maintain that the claims of Rohingya or Bangladeshi presence are entirely false and designed to mislead central leaders. The ruling party argues that the SIR process is being used to defame the community and has challenged the BJP to apologize to the residents.