BJP agents threaten BLOs to cut Muslim votes in Jharkhand
The names targeted for removal belong exclusively to Muslim voters.
Political controversy has escalated amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Jharkhand. Reports from Godda district indicate that BJP agents are threatening Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to remove the names of Muslim voters, and BJP agents are arriving in large numbers with Form-7.
A specific pattern regarding the names of voters has emerged at some polling stations in Godda district over the past month. Following the publication of the draft electoral roll on August 5 under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, BJP's Booth Level Agents (BLAs) have been arriving in large numbers with Form-7, demanding the removal of names of voters included in the draft list.
Most of the names mentioned above are linked to the Muslim community. The names threatened to be removed from the BLO include all names of Muslim voters, primarily including Abdul Mannan Khan, Mohammad Naushad, Mohammad Shafiq, Bibi Basilan, and Mohammad Aslam.
Indian Express investigation revealed that at least four polling stations' Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have refused to accept these applications, citing them as suspicious or procedurally incorrect. BLOs are state government employees, and currently, Jharkhand has a JMM-Congress coalition government.
The BJP has complained that BLOs are making mistakes by not accepting the forms. This has turned the matter political, creating a confrontation between ground-level election officials and BJP workers. The issue has now reached the Chief Electoral Officer of the state.
Indian Express contacted some voters whose names were requested to be removed. The investigation revealed that their families have been living in the village for several generations. Many of these voters' names were also verified in the intensive revision of the electoral roll conducted in 2003. According to the Election Commission's rules, this should make it easier to include their names in the current SIR. At booth number-9 in Maheshtikari village of Godda, a BJP BLA, Sanjeev Kumar Roshan, submitted Form-7 against 25 voters. 'The Indian Express' spoke to eight of these voters. All expressed concern that their voting rights could be taken away and that they might be deprived of government scheme benefits. At a neighboring booth, a BLA arrived with nearly 75 such forms. When the BLO questioned him, he, according to his own admission, burned all the forms right there.
The Block Development Officer (BDO) of Basantrai block in Godda, Shrimaan Marandi, stated that,
As the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), he has received complaints from four booths—Maheshtikari, Pachuakita, Lochani, and Baghaakol. A verification report will be submitted after an investigation in the area. BLOs have been instructed not to act on these forms, as the officials were unaware of their source.
He said, “They (BLAs) could have first submitted a written complaint to the SDO or me to request an investigation. Godda's RJD MLA Sanjay Prasad Yadav stated that he has spoken to Marandi and has been informed that action is being taken in the matter.
The SIR process in Jharkhand began on June 30. The draft was published on August 5, which removed approximately 16.48 percent or about 43 lakh voters' names from the electoral roll. Currently, the process of filing claims and objections is ongoing, which will end on September 4.
It is noteworthy that through Form-7, a voter's name can be requested to be removed on grounds such as being absent, permanently transferred, deceased, duplicate, or not being an Indian citizen.
BLO Anisha Bano from Maheshtikari stated that,
A BJP BLA brought about 25 forms to her, which were not “original” or official forms. The BLA stated that these forms were for voters who do not reside in the village. She also mentioned that 50 more forms would be brought later. All forms were in the names of Muslim voters.
Bano initially accepted 25 forms. Later, BDO Marandi instructed the BLO that these documents are not official forms, so they should not be accepted. After that, she refused to take the remaining forms. Bano mentioned that all the voters against whom objections were filed were linked to the 2003 electoral roll. Pachuakita's BLO Mukhtar stated that a BLA brought about 75 Form-7 to him. These forms were different from the officially received forms from the block office.
Mukhtar said,
The BLA asked me what this form is for. He was told that it is a form for adding names. I explained to him that through this, you are being made a witness to the removal of the concerned person's name from the electoral roll. Mukhtar did not accept the forms. He stated that almost all names on the 75 forms were of Muslim voters, and most of them were linked to the 2003 list. When questioned, the BLA who came to submit the forms burned all the forms and left.
Many residents of Maheshtikari village have complained to BDO Marandi about the large number of Form-7 being submitted at booth number-9.
Seventy-year-old Abdul Mannan Khan is also among the complainants. He stated that,
His family has been living in the village for several generations, and his name was also present in the 2003 electoral roll. This is our home, and we are also from Jharkhand. Then how can our names be removed? BLO Bano has assured that their names will remain in the electoral roll. Nevertheless, he fears that they might be deprived of government scheme benefits.
It is noteworthy that in the 2024 assembly elections in Jharkhand, Mandal lost to RJD's Sanjay Yadav by more than 20,000 votes from the Godda seat. RJD is part of the JMM-Congress alliance. Earlier, in the 2020 elections, Mandal had defeated Yadav by a narrow margin of about 4,500 votes.
Jharkhand's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K. Ravi Kumar stated that,
I have spoken to the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) and the Deputy Commissioner of Godda, and there has been no illegal activity. He said that objections were filed through Form-7 and can be submitted “in large numbers together. If any BLA feels that a voter is registered in more than one state, he can file an objection. He said, “There is nothing wrong in filing an objection. BLOs should not reject the forms. “First, you need to inform the AERO. They will decide what to do next. After that, you can make recommendations in your inspection report.”
JMM's local block president Sultan Ahmed termed these forms as “a BJP conspiracy to remove Muslim voters' names.” Congress General Secretary Surya Kant Shukla stated that the party is closely monitoring the ongoing SIR process in Jharkhand to keep track of any attempts to remove names through Form-7. He said, “We condemn any attempt to target and remove the names of selective voters.”
In Odisha and Uttarakhand, BJP agents are similarly threatening BLOs regarding cutting Muslim votes. Several such cases have emerged recently. Newslaundry reported that “In the draft of the voter list for the Jhabreda assembly seat in Uttarakhand, among the 1,657 objections recorded, 35 individuals named as applicants claimed that they did not file any such objection and that their identities were misused. Most of the voters targeted in these objections were Muslim.
In affidavits submitted to the Haridwar district administration on August 18 and 19, each of these 35 individuals stated that an ‘unknown person’ used their names, EPIC numbers, and forged signatures to apply under ‘Form 7’. These applications are used to remove names from the voter list. Interestingly, of these 35 individuals, 31 are BJP's BLA-2.
Meanwhile, in Odisha, ‘The Reporters Collective has obtained documents related to the alleged illegal attempts by BJP booth-level agents (BLA) to collectively remove the names of Muslim voters in the Bhadrak assembly constituency. We have also confirmed from various sources, including BJP agents, that such an attempt was made. It has been found in Bhadrak that several BJP BLAs submitted applications to the district administration for reviewing the names of hundreds of Muslim voters. This attempt to remove the names of Muslim voters on a large scale in Bhadrak has been confirmed not only by the submitted documents but also through conversations with some BJP agents.