Bangla Pokkho's Hunger Strike: A Fight for Voter Inclusion

On Monday, the pro-Bengal advocacy group 'Bangla Pokkho' initiated a fast-unto-death in Malda district, demanding the reinclusion of voters excluded during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest emerged after a deputation was submitted to the BDO office in Sujapur by the organization, claiming that a significant number of Bengali citizens were unfairly omitted from the voter list.

Key figures in the indefinite fast include Sahin Badsha, district secretary of Bangla Pokkho, and activists like Ikbal Malik, Ashraful Hoque, Uttam Mandal, Sohel Selim, and Md Rafik Ahmed. As tensions rise, Bangla Pokkho's general secretary, Garga Chatterjee, leads a central leadership team to Malda, criticizing the voter list revision as a tactic to disenfranchise Bengali speakers.

Chatterjee has warned of a broader statewide protest if the exclusion issue isn't immediately addressed, labeling the deletions as an assault on Bengali democratic rights. In response, local authorities, including the Malda district police, have heightened their vigilance to manage the situation.