The process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists has started in West Bengal and in this sequence, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are going door-to-door to get the voters to fill the enumeration forms. But they are facing complex questions like when will they come home, how can people living abroad be counted, what will happen to people born after 2002.
The Election Commission has entrusted the responsibility of door-to-door verification of identity of voters in their assigned areas to BLOs, which will be based on the voter list of 2002, when the last SIR of voter lists was conducted in the state.
BLO is continuously receiving calls from voters.
The phone of the BLO involved in SIR work in Nakatala-Baishnabaghata area under Tollygunge assembly constituency of Kolkata keeps ringing continuously and he tries to answer the questions of the voters. The BLO could be heard telling a worried resident, ‘I can come to your house only after one and a half weeks, because your serial number is after 1300. We have just reached voters up to serial number 400. Please call me next weekend.
The BLO tried to pacify the voter and said, ‘You have filed your nomination only two years ago. Don’t worry, your name will not be left out. The name of the said voter was added to the voter list in 2023 and he had voted in the Lok Sabha elections last year.
A BLO, while keeping his identity confidential, said that he is contacting the voters while roaming in the maze of streets and suburbs. He told the PTI-language correspondent accompanying him that since November 4, he has distributed the enumeration forms to about 300 families.
BL The distant problem of an old man worried about his relatives living abroad
At a house, the BLO met 70-year-old Prabir Sen, whose son and daughter live abroad. They were worried that none of their children would be able to return by December 4, which is the last date for returning the census forms. The BLO assured them and said, ‘They can submit it online. After filling the details like booth part number, voter ID number etc., they can download it from the Election Commission website. I will contact you; Please note down my mobile number.
Parents were worried about children born after 2002, BL solved the problem
At the same time, the problem of 50-year-old Balram Paul and his wife Monobina, residents of Baishnabghata, was different. One of their children was born after 2002 and the other was very young at that time. The parents were worried whether he would have some problem. The BLO assured them, ‘Your children will not face any danger. They voted in the last assembly and Lok Sabha elections and your names are in the voter list of 2002.
Voter did not find his name in the list after changing address in Kolkata
In another house on DPP Road, 49-year-old Anushila Dasgupta has a different concern. Dasgupta said she had voted in the 2002 elections from Kamarhati in North Kolkata and had moved to the locality in South Kolkata six years ago. Dasgupta’s problem is that after logging into the Election Commission website, he is not able to find his name in the 2002 voter list of Kamarhati assembly seat.
On this the BLO said, ‘We have to find out why the list of 2002 appears incomplete in Kamarhati. But considering that you have voted in subsequent elections in Kamarhati or Tollygunge. Your parents’ names are in the voter list of 2002. So you don’t need to worry.
Special Intensive Review (SIR) has also created a sense of equality among different sections. From a retired Indian Army colonel to a taxi driver, a housewife to a domestic help, everyone could be seen queuing up at a Trinamool Congress (TMC) camp that was set up to give people detailed information about the process.
1.1 crore counting forms distributed till 8 pm on 5th November
Sabyasachi Basu, a worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, said, ‘People are asking many questions. Some people asked whether Senior Citizen Card or Swasthya Sathi (Health Insurance) document could serve as identity proof. We are giving information about 11 listed documents given by the Election Commission. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal said in a statement that till 8 pm on November 5, 1.1 crore counting forms had been distributed.
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