A BJP worker in Uttarakhand objected. Voters in Kichha who never knew him are off the roll
Maseem, a 51-year-old mother of three, said she had submitted all the required documents. “I even stood in a queue for the whole day to get the family register certificate made. After that, I submitted all the documents at the camp organised by the local authorities,” she said.
On October 17, the day we visited, the BLO told her that her children’s names had been deleted from the final voter list, and that she had to submit all the documents afresh.
“Why has someone objected to my children’s names? We do not even know who Rajesh Tiwari is,” she said.
Asked about the deletions of names Tiwari had objected to, ERO Gaurav Pandey said, “Whatever process was followed would have been in accordance with the rules.”
Documents submitted, but still off the voter roll
Not all deletions in Kichha trace back to Tiwari’s objections. Hukumat Shah, a 57-year-old resident, was removed from the final roll even though no Form 7 was filed against her. Five other members of her family are also missing from the list.
“We gave them all the documents in response to the notice we received and even provided details from the 2002-2003 voter list in the form, but they still cut my name and my family members’ names,” she said.
The same happened to 72-year-old Ismail and his family. Five of its six members, including his children Rizwan, Imran, Ujma, and Heena, were deleted. Only his wife, Naeem, remains on the final roll. Ismail said that he and his children were all born in the same house where they continue to live.
He said the family received a notice and submitted all required documents, not once but twice, and their names were still deleted. “On October 12, the BLO told me that my name and those of my family members had been deleted from the voter list. He then asked me to apply afresh through Form 6,” he said.
“What else can we do? If they keep asking us to submit the documents, we have to do it. At 72, I am running around getting documents made and submitting them. I have been voting for so many years and never faced any problems. Now, I have to go through all this.”
