Rajasthan BLO alleges pressure to slash Muslim voters from rolls

A booth-level officer (BLO) in Rajasthan has publicly alleged coercion during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the pressure placed on him over the process drove him to the brink of self-harm.

According to a report by Newslaundry, the official — Kirti Kumar, a BLO posted in Jaipur’s Muslim-majority Hawa Mahal constituency — claimed BJP functionaries were pressuring him to act on objections targeting Muslim voters in booths where the party had won by narrow margins in 2023. He said these objections demanded the removal of 470 electors from the draft rolls, amounting to almost 40 per cent of his booth, even though he had already verified their details as part of the SIR.

The situation came to wider attention after a video circulated online in which Kumar was heard saying he would go to the collector’s office and start a hunger strike to end his life.

In the same recording, he could be heard speaking on the phone to BJP councillor Suresh Saini, asking rhetorically whether he should “strike off the entire locality”, adding that leaving just 50 names would make it easier for “you and Maharaj” to win. 'Maharaj' in this context refers to BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya, who secured the Hawa Mahal seat by just 974 votes in the 2023 Assembly election.

Kumar, who also teaches at a government school, told Newslaundry that the heavy workload generated by repeat verification was affecting his students, and that he now faced orders to process hundreds of forms within 48 hours.

He estimated the work would take nearly 78 hours and described it as “repeating the entire SIR process” a second time. He also claimed BJP leaders had threatened him with suspension if he did not comply, and said he had informed his superiors that he could not continue under those conditions.

Other BLOs in the area described a sharply uneven pattern in the objections. Officers at several nearby booths without significant Muslim populations reported no objections at all, while another BLO, Saraswati Meena, said 158 objections had been filed in her booth and alleged they had been lodged by BJP agents specifically against Muslim voters. She noted that these voters lived in the locality and had already been verified during the SIR, describing the new demands as unjustified pressure.

The dispute has escalated politically. State Congress leaders accused the BJP of misusing the revision process to tamper with the electorate by cutting Muslim and Opposition-leaning voters out of the rolls.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot wrote that where officials and BLOs refused to participate in what he called an “attack on democracy”, they were threatened with transfer. He described the episode as a “black chapter” for Rajasthan’s democracy and warned officials that those who violated constitutional norms under political pressure would ultimately be held accountable under the law.

The BJP rejected these accusations, insisting that revisions were being conducted as per Election Commission rules and accusing the Congress of inventing grievances after losing public support. Party leaders said the complaints were politically timed and lacked substance.

The controversy has unfolded alongside broader administrative strains. Reports from Jaipur have documented at least three deaths among BLOs in recent weeks amid allegations of excessive workloads, training gaps and software glitches during electoral revisions. While the causes vary, the incidents have deepened concerns about the execution of the SIR process.

Rajasthan’s draft electoral rolls were published on 16 December 2025. Of 5.46 crore registered voters, nearly 42 lakh names had been removed, prompting intense public scrutiny and a month-long window for claims and objections that closed on Thursday, 15 January. The final list under the SIR schedule is due on 14 February, and the political mood suggests the process will remain under dispute until then.