Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the city are being approached by voters categorised as ‘permanently shifted’ to get their classification reversed. This follows the extension of the deadline for the completion of fieldwork for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by a week. The deadline of SIR has been extended from December 11 to 18.
BLOs say that voters categorised as ‘shifted’ are insisting that even though they no longer live at the address listed against their names in the voters’ lists, they want to continue voting at the same booth.
‘Permanently shifted’ constitute the biggest chunk of the ‘Uncollectable’ voters. According to district election office data, as many as 2,84,828 voters have permanently moved out from their listed addresses. They form 13.40% of the total voters. Next are 1,08,993 (5.13%) voters who are untraceable, and 32, 871 (1.55%) who have passed away. Voters who are enrolled elsewhere, too, number 13,575 and they form 0.63% of the total voters.
The total number of ‘Uncollectable’ voters (whose Enumeration Forms (EFs) could not be collected due to different reasons) is 4.34 lakh. They form 21% of the voters, and their names will not figure in the Draft Voters List to be published after the end of the field work.
Vikram Singh Prajapati, the BLO of a booth in Railway Colony said that more than voters who were not found at the addresses and have been categorised as ‘shifted’ have approached him saying that they don’t live in the polling booth area but want to vote there. We are telling them that they should get their names added to the list of the polling booth in the area in which they live but they are not ready to listen,” he said, adding that they tell that Yes, I live elsewhere but want to vote here.
Upendra Kausal, a supervisor, also confirmed the same. “The deadline has been extended and most of our work is over. But now, the BLOs are being approached by voters who want to get their names deleted from the ‘shifted’ list and added to the draft list,” he said.