‘What if we’re not seen as Indians?’: Flagged by BJP, villagers in Jharkhand worry

Voters in Maheshtikri village, Godda, Jharkhand, are worried that they may not be recognized as Indian citizens after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process flagged their names in the electoral roll. Many of the objections to their names were filed by the BJP through their Booth Level Agents (BLAs), some of which were not in the required format.

The BJP and the Chief Electoral Officer have stated that the BLAs have the right to file these objections, but villagers are uncertain about the next steps. One resident, Abdul Mannan Khan, 70, has lived in the village for generations and is concerned about the deletion of his name from the 2003 voter list. He feels that his family has been a part of the community for a long time and questions how their names could be removed.

Another voter, Mohammad Naushad, 50, also expresses fear over losing access to state welfare programs if his name is deleted. His father, Mohammad Shafiq, 80, and his mother, Bibi Basilan, are both registered voters and have been living in Maheshtikri for years. They have land records proving their residence in Jharkhand, but now face uncertainty.

The BDO of Basantrai, Sriman Marandi, has received complaints from four booths regarding the Form 7 applications filed by the BJP BLAs. The deletion requests can be filed in bulk, according to the state's top electoral officer, K Ravi Kumar, but BLAs should have reported the concerns instead of submitting the deletion requests directly.