With multiple CCTVs strung on lamp posts around it, the house stands out in a Jafrabad neighbourhood in the Samserganj Assembly constituency, with a West Bengal police camp set up nearby. It belongs to Harogobindo Das and his son Chandan Das, who were hacked to death by a mob on April 11 last year, when protests held against the Centre’s amended Waqf law had turned violent in the area.About 20 kms away, in Kasimnagar village in the Suti constituency, the family of Ejaz Ahmed – who was the third fatality in that April 11 violence in Murshidabad district – also continues to grapple with their grief. Ejaz was killed after police allegedly opened fire on protesters at Sajurmore crossing at the National Highway 12.AdvertisementWith barely two weeks to go for the Bengal Assembly elections, Harogobindo’s wife Parul Das tells The Indian Express: “We have not accepted any compensation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. But the BJP has helped us. We had demanded a permanent BSF camp in our area, which has yet to come up. There is a state police camp, but we have no trust in them.”In December, a Murshidabad court convicted 13 accused in the killings of the father-son duo to life imprisonment. Parul, however, says, “We still feel insecure. What will these CCTVs do if we are attacked again? We have put an iron gate and grille to prevent the goons from breaking our door like they did last April.The central security forces patrol the area, but they cannot be deployed here forever.”Parul’s younger son Soumitra, who had been working as a labourer in Tamil Nadu, has returned home, deciding to stay with his family now.Ejaz’s mother Saima Bibi says his wife Salima has got a job from the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and that she had got a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. “Only TMC people took care of us. But now, no one visits us. My daughter-in-law has also shifted to her father’s home,” she says.SIR, adjudication rowsAdvertisementIn the Muslim-dominated border districts of Murshidabad and Malda, while the conflict between the TMC and the principal Opposition BJP has always played out along communal faultlines, their battle in the region in the upcoming polls may be defined by the current hot button: the Election Commission (EC)’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the deletion of many voters, especially after adjudication.In Murshidabad district, of around 57.6 lakh pre-SIR voters, about 2.78 lakh names were deleted after the SIR’s first two rounds. Then under adjudication, 4.55 lakh more names were deleted, as per the EC data.Similarly, in Malda district, of around 32 lakh pre-SIR electors, about 2 lakh names were deleted following the SIR’s initial rounds. Later, 2.4 lakh more names were struck off the voter list under adjudication, the EC data shows.The state’s top 10 Assembly seats where voters were deleted after adjudication are in Murshidabad, including Samserganj and Suti, and Malda.While all the contenders seem to be struggling to gauge the ramifications of the deletions for the polls, the TMC believes this would result in consolidation of its crucial Muslim base. The BJP camp, on the other hand, hopes that it could cash in on the ensuing polarisation.While the SIR adjudication process is over, it has cast a shadow over the polls, with long queues seen in the offices of Block Development Officers (BDOs) and panchayats across Murshidabad and Malda, as deleted voters seek to file appeals before tribunals, which have yet to be functional.The deletion of voters led to protests at various crossings on NH 12 in Malda on April 1. On the same day, at the Kaliachak-II BDO office in the Mothabari Assembly seat, which is also in the top 10 list, seven judicial officers were gheraoed by protesters for several hours and had to be rescued by the police late at night. During the rescue, the protesters allegedly pelted stones at the police. The Supreme Court ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the incident, with 35 arrests being made so far.Key battlegroundsIn the 2021 Assembly polls, of Murshidabad’s 22 seats, the TMC had won 20 as against the BJP’s two. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC swept all three seats in the district. “With SIR hitting people hard, it is to be seen whether TMC is able to consolidate its minority base for the upcoming Assembly polls, or Muslim votes would get divided,” says a senior CPI(M) leader.In Malda, the TMC bagged 8 Assembly seats of 12 in 2021 as compared to the BJP’s 4. But, in 2024, the TMC could not win any of the district’s two parliamentary seats with the BJP and the Congress winning one each.Speaking to the Express, senior Congress leader and Baharampur candidate, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged: “In 2024, TMC and BJP played communal politics due to which I lost my Baharampur Lok Sabha seat. But people are tired of this kind of politics now. So they are with us this time.”Congress MP from South Malda Isha Khan Chowdhury said, “Congress is expecting to win several seats in Malda. But the problem is SIR, due to which huge deletions occurred in some seats where we have had a strong base. Most of them are genuine voters. In this situation, we don’t know which parties’ voters have got deleted more. There is utter confusion.”Owaisi, Humayun KabirIn Murshidabad and Malda, there are some other players vying to garner Muslim votes, such as the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and rebel TMC leader Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP).While the AMIM is contesting from four seats in Murshidabad and two in Malda, the AJUP is in the fray from most of the seats. They had forged an alliance to fight this election, but the AIMIM announced Friday that it has broken up with the AJUP, a day after the TMC alleged that Kabir had demanded Rs 1,000 crore from the BJP to topple the Mamata government, citing a video.The sitting MLA from Murshidabad’s Bharatpur, Kabir is said to have some influence in a few other seats of the district too.Besides the Congress and the CPI(M)-led Left, which are also contesting separately, the AIMIM and the AJUP are also seen as a threat to the TMC’s prospects in some seats in the two districts by splitting Muslim votes, which may benefit the BJP.Kabir claims, “Our party would pull off a miracle in Murshidabad, from where both TMC and BJP will return empty handed.”