Voter deletion in Bengal is erasing access to welfare

When Sarika Mallik’s name was first deleted from the voter roll in West Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ahead of the April assembly elections this year, her main concern was her political disenfranchisement—not the loss of her welfare entitlement. She received Rs 1,500 under Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, the state’s cash transfer scheme for women. That stopped in May 2026. After the