Many voters struck off the electoral list are running from pillar to post to figure out the way ahead.
They said booth-level officers (BLOs) told them they did not know the process either and that aggrieved voters should approach “higher authorities”.
A 73-year-old man in north Calcutta and a 76-year-old woman in Salt Lake described their plight to Metro. This newspaper is not naming either of them to spare them further harassment.
73-year-old man
The names of the elderly man and his wife were deleted from the electoral roll when the post-SIR list was published on February 28. Their troubles started then.
“One of our neighbours called the BLO on my behalf and tried to explain the problem, but she disconnected the phone. Then my neighbour called her at least 20 times, but she did not take the call,” the retired central government employee said on Tuesday.
Finally, the BLO answered. When asked what to do to restore the names, she suggested filling out Form 6.
“We have no instructions. I think you have to fill up Form 6, but we don’t have any clear instructions,” the man quoted the BLO as saying.
His neighbour then asked if physical forms could be provided, but the BLO said it was not possible. “We submitted the forms online,” he said.
Later, however, he was told that they would have to submit appeals.
“We wanted to file the appeals online, but since we did not have the notice for the earlier hearings, we could not do so. We had been called for the hearings over the phone by the BLO,” he said.
“The BLO said she did not know what we needed to do to file appeals.”
After he persisted, the BLO asked him to approach Election Commission officials “sitting at the local municipality office” for guidance.
“I went to the municipality. The EC officials there said they would not accept the appeal and asked me to go to the district magistrate’s office in Barasat. I didn’t go, apprehending more harassment,” he said.
They have still not been able to file appeals.
76-year-old woman
The Salt Lake resident was trying to fill out her SIR enumeration form from Dubai, where she had gone to visit her daughter. The elderly woman’s husband passed away recently.
“While filling out the form, I found that our EPIC numbers were missing. The BLO was very helpful, and when I messaged him, he immediately sent the numbers,” she said.
However, a discrepancy in the spelling of her name on her Aadhaar and voter cards led to the rejection of her form.
“I again messaged the BLO, asking what I should do after my form was rejected. He wrote back saying he would not be able to tell me what process I needed to follow,” said the woman.
“I was at a loss. After returning to India, I called the BLO. He was sympathetic but did not know what I should do. He said I would have to wait for the elections to be over and then go to the EC,” she said.
“Now, I am desperately calling whoever I know and asking what I should do.”