12 hrs ago
Jharkhand SIR Triggers Clash Over Alleged Targeted Voter Deletions
Jharkhand is checking its voter list through a process called a Special Intensive Revision.
Some BJP booth agents asked officials to remove many names from the list in Godda district.
Many of the people named were Muslims.
Local election workers said some forms looked unofficial or were not properly supported, so they refused to accept some of them.
The people questioned said they had lived in the area for many years and had voted there before.
Some were also connected to the older 2003 voter list.
The BJP said its workers are allowed to report possible duplicate or incorrect voter registrations.
Election officials said the applications must be handled through the proper review process before any names are removed.
BJP booth agents submitted bulk Form 7 objections against voters in four Godda booths.
Booth Level Officers rejected some forms as unofficial, procedurally unsound or unsupported.
Many targeted voters said their families had lived locally for generations and appeared on the 2003 roll.
The BJP said its agents can file objections in bulk, including over suspected duplicate registrations.
Election officials said objections are permitted but should be reviewed through the prescribed process and field verification.
- Who
- BJP booth agents, Booth Level Officers, targeted voters, local administrators and political parties including the BJP, RJD, JMM and Congress.
- What
- A dispute has emerged over bulk Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters from Jharkhand’s revised electoral rolls.
- Where
- Four booths in Godda district: Maheshtikri, Pachua Kita, Lochni and Baghakol.
- When
- The SIR began on June 30; the draft roll was published on August 5, and claims and objections run until September 4. The BJP submitted a memorandum on August 27.
- Why
- BJP representatives said objections could address voters who were absent, shifted, deceased or registered more than once; critics alleged the applications disproportionately targeted Muslim voters.
Critics of the applications
BJP and election officials
Whether the applications were proper
Critics of the applications
Booth Level Officers said some forms were different from official forms, lacked a clear source or were submitted in bulk without adequate grounds. Local leaders and affected voters raised concerns about targeted deletions.
BJP and election officials
The BJP said its booth agents are trained to use Form 7 and that there is no prescribed limit on how many objections they can submit. The Chief Electoral Officer said Form 7 objections may be submitted in bulk.
Whether Muslim voters were targeted
Critics of the applications
BLOs said most or all names in the batches they saw belonged to Muslims. The JMM and Congress described the episode as an attempt or conspiracy to remove Muslim voters.
BJP and election officials
The BJP said objections can be filed when voters appear to be registered in more than one place and denied that bulk submissions were inherently improper. Officials said each objection must be examined rather than rejected automatically.
How officials should handle forms
Critics of the applications
The local administration instructed BLOs not to act on forms whose source or status was unclear and planned field verification, noting that some targeted voters appeared to live at their registered addresses.
BJP and election officials
The Chief Electoral Officer said BLOs should not reject forms outright; they should inform the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, who would decide the next steps before the BLO submitted an observation report.
Key facts
- Revision exercise
- Jharkhand’s Special Intensive Revision began on June 30.
- Draft-roll deletions
- The August 5 draft list deleted about 43 lakh voters, or 16.48% of the electorate.
- Disputed booths
- Complaints came from Maheshtikri, Pachua Kita, Lochni and Baghakol.
- Form 7
- The form can be used to seek deletion on grounds including absence, shifting, death, duplication or non-citizenship.
- Maheshtikri applications
- One BJP booth agent submitted 25 Form 7 applications against voters in Booth No. 9.
- Pachua Kita applications
- A booth agent brought about 75 forms, which he later said he burned after learning there was confusion over their purpose.
- Administrative response
- Officials said field verification would be conducted for deletion requests and that the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer would decide how forms should proceed.
Quotes
Abdul Mannan Khan
A 70-year-old Maheshtikri resident whose voter registration was challenged.
“Kumar came up with printed Form-7, mentioning some names in the missing and shifted category. I doubted it because all details in the form were printed. Besides, the names of people mentioned in the forms have been residing there for a long time. I returned the forms to him”
telegraphindia.com
“I was provided 25 such forms by the party. As per the party’s direction, I took the forms, in which every column was already filled, to the BLO, but she refused to sign”
telegraphindia.com
Ganori Mandal
A BJP Booth Level Agent who submitted around 75 Form 7 applications.
“We are innocent and uneducated people. We got the forms from BJP cadres to submit to the BLO. I thought it was a form to add names.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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