Election Commission should ensure that no eligible voter is left out in SIR: JMM
Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Tuesday cautioned booth level agents as well as micro observers to be sensitive and alert ahead of the implementation of the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists to be held in Jharkhand next month. Home visits of enumerators for SIR in the state will start from June 30.Addressing the media, party’s central general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said, “Given the way SIR was implemented in West Bengal, Bihar etc. to suit a particular party, we want to caution the BLOs and astute observers to know that this is Jharkhand, a state born out of political colonialism and conflict.”JMM further said Election Commission (EC) should ensure that no legitimate voter is left out and also said that the party is already working on plans to ensure this when SIR is implemented in the state.Bhattacharya alleged that efforts will be made to change not only the voter demography but also the constituencies through the delimitation to be held in the coming days. “For example in Assam, after SIR, constituencies were truncated to suit the BJP. We know such efforts will be made here too, where seats will not increase, but all efforts will be made to change the nature of the constituency,” he claimed.JMM’s ally Congress in the coalition government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren has also expressed similar apprehensions. Addressing the media, party president Keshav Mahato Kamlesh along with Poraiyahat MLA Pradeep Yadav said, “We have already deployed around 19,000 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and more will be deployed to ensure that no eligible voter is left out.”The BJP hit out at JMM and Congress for trying to intimidate the Election Commission as well as those involved in the SIR work. A party spokesperson said, “SIR is a mandatory process carried out by a constitutional body and no one can threaten anyone or try to stop it.”
