BJP Agents in Jharkhand Accused of Filing Fake Voter Deletion Forms
· India · Indian Express, The Hindu
BJP Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in Jharkhand's Godda district have been filing Form 7 applications to delete voters from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) draft electoral roll, with most targeted names belonging to the minority community, The Indian Express reported. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across at least four booths refused the applications, flagging them as not genuine or procedurally unsound; in one instance, a BLA burned 75 forms on the spot after being questioned. At Booth No. 9 of Maheshtikri village alone, BLA Sanjeev Kumar Roshan filed 25 such forms, and Indian Express spoke to eight targeted voters — all verified in the 2003 intensive revision — who fear disenfranchisement and loss of access to government schemes. The BJP has complained to the Chief Electoral Officer that BLOs are at fault, while the CEO has stated BLOs cannot refuse forms, setting up a standoff between the ruling JMM-Congress alliance's ground officials and BJP workers.
Why it matters
Voters in Godda district, particularly from the minority community, face the risk of being wrongly removed from the electoral roll and cut off from welfare schemes, while the standoff between BLOs and BJP agents raises broader concerns about the integrity of the SIR process in Jharkhand.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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