A Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal assembly constituency has alleged that he is being coerced into removing hundreds of voters, predominantly Muslims, from the electoral rolls. This pressure has reportedly pushed him to the brink of suicide.
Kirti Kumar, a government school teacher serving as a BLO, claims he is being ordered to strike off approximately 40 percent of the voters from the draft rolls released after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He asserts that these objections are targeted specifically at Muslim voters, despite having previously verified their credentials.
In a viral video clip, Kumar can be heard expressing his distress during a phone conversation, stating, “I will go to the collector’s office and commit suicide there.” He also addressed BJP councillor Suresh Saini, suggesting, “Maybe I should remove voters from the entire basti. That will help you and Maharaj win the election comfortably.” Here, “Maharaj” refers to BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya, who won the 2023 Assembly election in Hawa Mahal, a constituency with a Muslim majority, by a narrow margin of just 974 votes.
Acharya, who is the chief priest of Jaipur’s Dakshinmukhiji Balaji Temple, has faced multiple controversies related to remarks and actions perceived to target Muslims.
Speaking to Newslaundry, Kumar expressed frustration over the SIR process, which he stated has significantly disrupted his teaching responsibilities and adversely affected his students. He noted that he has been tasked with processing 470 objections within a mere two days, a workload he described as unrealistic. “This will take at least 78 hours. And then I have to go back on the ground again to verify these voters. This is like repeating the entire exercise,” he said, adding that BJP politicians are threatening him with suspension.
In parallel, BLOs from at least five neighboring booths, which predominantly serve Hindu voters, reported having received no objections at all. Saraswati Meena, a BLO from another booth in the same region, claimed that objections had been raised against 158 voters at her booth, again targeting Muslim individuals. “We have already verified these voters during the SIR. They live here. This is wrong. We cannot be pressured like this,” she asserted.
The situation has raised alarms regarding the increasing pressure on election staff amid the SIR process and the implications for minority voters. Reports indicate that at least three BLOs have died in Rajasthan recently, attributed to mounting work pressure and challenges associated with the SIR, including app malfunctions, insufficient training, and unrealistic deadlines.
This incident has stirred significant concerns about alleged political interference in electoral processes, the targeting of minority voters, and the profound human cost tied to the ongoing revision of electoral rolls in the state.
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