A man in his 50s, whose name has been deleted from the voters’ list but was there in 2002, walked to the “camp” in front of his apartment and asked the booth-level officer (BLO) about the procedure to get his name reinstated.
The BLO, a lady, instead of replying, asked him a few questions.
“The Trinamool booth-level agent (BLA) told me that I needed to fill up a certain form and submit it. But he could not tell me whether I should do it now or after the SIR (special intensive revision) exercise is over. The BLO seemed to have no clue,” said the Gariahat resident. Both the man and his wife’s names are not on the list now.
Many voters across Calcutta, who are facing similar and other problems and are having queries regarding the current exercise to revise the voters’ list in Bengal, are confused because either the BLOs are not being able to give them proper answers or the helplines of the Election Commission are impossible to reach. In few cases, the voters are also unable to reach the BLOs too.
“Since we were at Ironside Road in 2002 and now we are registered at New Town, will there be any difficulty? Will the BLO be able to find our name from 2002 rolls?” asked a retired bureaucrat in a WhatsApp group of senior government officials.
“Since there is a lack of communication from the electoral office, the confusions are increasing,” said a state government official.
Metro called the 1950 helpline and another number, 033 2280-5805, that was provided on the website of the state election commission several times between 2pm and 6.30pm on Saturday. Every time, the numbers were either engaged or busy.
Around 5.10pm on Sunday, a call to 1950 elicited the following response: “The subscriber you have dialled is not accepting any calls. Please call after some time.” Even an hour later, the response was the same. The other number continued to remain engaged.
Such lack of communication is triggering anxiety, alleged many voters.
A Kasba resident said his enumeration form has not yet come although most of the residents in his apartment have received their forms.
“I tried calling the helpline numbers but could not get through. I could not reach the BLO also. Finally, a BLA told me my form should come this week,” he said.
A booth-level officer was out distributing enumeration forms in a neighbourhood that is part of the Behala West Assembly seat on Saturday afternoon. In front of a local club, a group of elderly citizens surrounded her.
“My son is in the US. He has been voting since 2009. He cannot come before the second week of December. What do I have to do to ensure his name is not deleted from the list,” asked one of them.
The BLO leafed through the pages and told the man that the polling station his family was linked to was not assigned to her. “Someone else would visit your home,” the BLO told the man, who was not satisfied.
Another woman is listed as a voter in Ward 128 in the 2002 rolls. She got married in 2012 and moved to Ward 126. But she continued voting at her previous polling station even after marriage.
She now uses her husband’s surname and has changed her Aadhaar card and bank account details accordingly.
“The BLO left my enumeration form with my parents. But if they ask for any paper, I can’t show them anything with my maiden surname except my voter card. The BLO was not too sure if that would work. She said she would talk to her senior officer and get back,” said the woman.