NT Reporter
Panaji
Although the number of Muslim voters deleted from Goa’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was lower than the number of Hindu and Christian voters removed, the proportion of Muslim electors deleted was significantly higher, according to a community-wise analysis of the revised rolls.
The analysis was conducted by journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai.
Around 18,000 names were deleted from an estimated Muslim electorate of 90,000, translating into a deletion rate of 20%, according to the analysis estimates. In comparison, approximately 33,000 names were removed from an estimated Christian electorate of 3 lakh, a rate of 11%, while around 71,000 names were deleted from an estimated Hindu electorate of 7.64 lakh, representing 9%. In other words, Hindus and Christians accounted for higher absolute numbers of deletions because their estimated electorates were considerably larger. However, when deletions are measured against the estimated size of each community’s electorate, Muslims recorded the highest rate, states the analysis.
For context, Muslims constituted 8.33% of Goa’s population in the 2011 Census, compared with 25.1% Christians and 66.08% Hindus. These are population shares from the 2011 Census, not current estimates of the religious composition of Goa’s electorate.
The analysis estimates that Muslim voter deletions exceeded those among other religious communities in 27 of Goa’s 40 Assembly constituencies. Vasco recorded the highest estimated deletion rate among Muslim voters at 47%, followed by Cortalim at 43%. Calangute, Tivim and Canacona also recorded rates ranging between 28% and 35%.
The community-wise findings were derived from an examination of 1,731 booth-wise electoral roll PDFs and corresponding lists of absent, shifted,
dead and duplicate voters. Since the Election Commission of India does not record the religion of electors, the analysis classified voters using their names, fathers’ or husbands’ names and surnames. Ambiguous cases were categorised as ‘Unknown’.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer’s final publication dated February 21, Goa’s electorate stood at 10,57,566, compared with 11,85,034 before the revision, representing a net reduction of 1,27,468 voters.
The analysis identifies the disparity in estimated deletion rates, but does not establish why the rates differ across religious communities.
