INDIA bloc alleges BJP workers forcing BLOs to delete voters' names in Jharkhand

Ranchi: A delegation of the INDIA bloc met Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar and submitted a memorandum alleging that BJP workers were forcing BLOs in several districts to delete names of particular voters through Form-7.

The CEO, however, said the SIR of the electoral rolls was a transparent process, and names of eligible voters could not be deleted.

"Reports from several districts, including Garhwa, Godda and Chatra, are coming that BJP workers and their booth-level agents (BLAs) are forcing BLOs to delete names of particular voters from the electoral rolls," JMM general secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey told reporters after meeting the CEO on Thursday.


Leaders of the Jharkhand Congress, including state unit president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, as well as representatives of the RJD and CPI (ML) Liberation, were part of the delegation.

Pandey said they demanded that the CEO identify those involved in such activities and take action against them.

Form-7 is used to seek deletion of names from existing electoral rolls.

The CEO said claims and objections were currently being invited as part of the revision process. BLAs can submit objections in bulk, with up to 10 forms a day to BLOs, he said.

"The SIR process is transparent. Eligible voters' names cannot be deleted. The details of Form-6 or Form-7, such as the number of forms received and names of voters, among others, can be checked through the website," Kumar said.

He said the notion that someone's name could be secretly removed based on misinformation was "completely incorrect".