Probe ordered into Form-7 voter deletion requests in Jharkhand’s Godda

An inquiry has been ordered in Jharkhand’s Godda district after booth-level agents (BLA-2) submitted Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls at several booths, with BLOs questioning the requests and, in some cases, refusing to accept them. The Godda constituency is represented by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

The controversy emerged when the agents sought signatures from booth-level officers (BLOs) acknowledging receipt of the forms. The BLOs objected that several voters named in the applications had been living in the respective areas for years and that many were also listed in the 2003 electoral rolls.

At Booth 9 in Maheshtikri, BJP booth level agent (BLA) Sanjeev Kumar said he had submitted the forms on instructions from the party.

“I was provided 25 such forms by the party. As per the party’s direction, I took the forms, in which every column was already filled, to the BLO, but she refused,” Kumar told PTI.

Booth-9 BLO Anisha Bano said the printed Form-7 applications sought deletion of names under the “missing” and “shifted” categories.

“Kumar came up with printed Form-7, mentioning some names in the missing and shifted category. I doubted it because all details in the form were printed. Besides, the names of people mentioned in the forms have been residing there for a long time. I returned the forms to him,” Bano said.

The issue also surfaced at Booth 48 in Pachua Kitta, where BLO Md Mukher said a BLA-2 approached him with around 15 Form-7 applications and sought his signature on the receiving document.

“A BLA-2 of a political party came to me with around 15 papers of Form-7 and wanted my signature. I asked him if he knew about the significance of the form. The BLA said he received it from the party and he has no idea about it,” Mukher claimed.

Mukher said he tore up the forms after explaining the implications of the applications.

“I told him that after submitting the form, he will be witness to the deletion of the names of the voters. The BLA said he has 70 such forms and that he was going to destroy them,” he said.

The mukhiya of Vatra panchayat alleged that BJP BLAs had distributed such forms at four booths — Maheshtikri, Pachua Kitta, Lochni and Baghakol.

The allegations come as Jharkhand undergoes a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls.

Basantrai Block Development Officer and Electoral Registration Officer Sriman Marandi said he had ordered a probe into the matter.

“Anyone can raise an objection. I asked the BLOs to accept the forms treating them as objections. Names of genuine voters cannot be deleted in any case,” Marandi told PTI.

He said a preliminary inquiry at Booth 9 found that 24 of the 25 voters named in the applications had been residing in the area for a long time. The remaining voter had been away from the village for two months as a migrant worker.

“We expect the final inquiry report to come in a day or two,” Marandi said.

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said he had sought a report from the district election officer.

“BLAs can submit forms in bulk, and the BLOs cannot deny accepting them. However, the BLA has to submit a declaration that information provided in the form is true. We have to check if the BLA had submitted declaration or not,” he said.

The developments coincide with the publication of the draft electoral rolls in Jharkhand on Wednesday, following the deletion of more than 43.61 lakh names during the SIR exercise.

The state had 2.64 crore electors before the enumeration exercise. The draft rolls now contain around 2.21 crore voters, comprising 1.12 crore men, 1.08 crore women and 260 third-gender electors.

The enumeration exercise was conducted from June 30 to July 29, with BLOs undertaking door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms.

The Election Commission has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections under the SIR to September 15. The final publication of the revised electoral rolls has also been deferred from October 7 to October 19.