Jharkhand SIR: BJP BLA held, out on bail, over 200 Form 7s against minority voters

In Jharkhand’s Godda district, a BJP Booth Level Agent (BLA) named Vinay Kumar Mandal was arrested for allegedly submitting 200 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of minority voters’ names from the electoral roll. Mandal is now out on bail. The complaint was registered at Godda Muffasil Police Station on September 3 against Mandal under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with forgery and intentional insult, and Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act for making a false declaration during electoral roll preparation.

Mandal was accused of submitting the Form 7s to Booth Level Officer (BLO) Sajida Bibi of Booth No. 231 in Pachrukhi village. The complainant Mukarram Ansari, also a voter in the same booth, stated that all the voters against whom Form 7s were submitted were genuine. Upon learning about the deletion attempts, Ansari informed senior officials.

Mandal was subsequently questioned by the BLO, who alleged that the forms had been given to her husband, who was asked to sign them and receive a receipt. The BLO refused to sign, as she wanted to verify the forms first. She discovered that all the forms were indeed Form 7s, with the names of Muslim voters among them.

When questioned, Mandal claimed that he had submitted the forms after being instructed by a meeting of BJP BLAs. He also admitted that the forms contained mostly Muslim voters but stated that similar forms had been submitted by a BLA in his own predominantly Hindu village. The incident came to light after Congress district general secretary Akbar Ali visited Bibi’s residence and called Mandal, leading to a police and block officials’ intervention. The village residents then filed the complaint.

According to Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, BLOs cannot refuse to accept Form 7s, and any deletion resulting from their submission is conducted after a probe. Former Godda BJP MLA Amit Mandal contested the arrest, alleging it was mob lynching, and claimed a threat from the RJD, a part of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand.