SIR voter list discrepancies spark protest

 

 

 

THE Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list has come under question in Bhilai after major discrepancies were detected in the draft rolls released on 23 December. According to Election Commission’s guidelines, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were required to conduct door-to-door visits, collect forms and physically verify voters before the draft publication. However, Bhilai Zila Congress Committee spokesperson Javed Khan alleged that despite this exercise, names of people who had sold their houses nearly six years ago are still appearing in the draft voter list. He questioned under whose pressure the BLOs submitted forms for such individuals, who should have been recorded as “shifted” and removed from the list. In a specific case from Bhilai Nagar Assembly Constituency 65, Part Number 2, voter Vijayalakshmi Soni has objected to the entries at serial numbers 534, 538, 539 and 544. She has stated that she purchased the property at the concerned address in 2019, yet the old names continue to appear in the list even after the SIR process.

 

On Tuesday, Javed Khan, along with Congress BLA representatives B.L. Malviya, Arun Thawkar, Mohammad Javed and R.B.K. Rao, submitted objections and a memorandum to Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) Yogita Dewangan, demanding a thorough probe into the alleged irregularities. Khan alleged that the presence of such errors, despite a stringent verification exercise, raises serious doubts about the credibility of the entire voter revision process. He urged the District Election Officer to delete all wrongly included names from the draft rolls without any political influence, so that the final publication reflects an accurate and error-free voter list. He further pointed out that 22 January 2026 is the last date for filing claims and objections, after which no applications will be entertained. As per the rules, BLOs are required to decide on claims and objections in the presence of BLAs of both parties. However, he alleged that at the last moment, BJP’s BLAs are submitting a large number of objections to get names deleted, often without the knowledge of Congress BLAs, so that these deletions are reflected in the final voter list.