Political parties claim BLAs are helping voters with documentation, enumeration queries

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun

As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls gathers pace in Dehradun, political parties have claimed that their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) are helping residents with documentation and enumeration-related queries and coordinating with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the exercise.

The claims come amid concerns raised by some residents, particularly those living in slum settlements, who have alleged that BLOs are handing over notices without properly explaining the verification process or the documents required.

BJP state deputy media in-charge Rajendra Negi said that the party has trained its BLAs and is coordinating with them to ensure that no voter is left out of the revision exercise. He said that the BJP has 11,729 BLAs across the state who are visiting voters door-to-door and helping them with their queries. “We have trained them and they are helping people. We are coordinating with them and making every effort to ensure that no one is left out,” Negi said. He said that the party has a booth-level network, with Shakti Kendra in-charges and Assembly constituency-level teams overseeing the work and addressing complaints. He added that the party has not maintained separate data on the number of people assisted as individual BLAs are helping several residents every day.

However, dozens of locals whom The Pioneer spoke to said that no one from any political party visited or offered to help them. In response, Negi said that “If any complaint reaches us that someone was not helped, we will call the concerned person and understand the issue.”

Congress leader Vaibhav Walia said that the party was also assisting residents with the SIR process. He said that notices had been issued to around 50,000 people so far and party workers were explaining the documents required for verification. He added that contact numbers had also been provided to residents facing difficulties. According to Walia, Congress workers have helped around 20,000 people in his constituency so far, He said. 

BLA Vikas Negi said that “We are visiting door-to-door, explaining the required documents and informing them about submission deadlines. He said that we had been trained for the SIR exercise and were helping as many residents as possible each day. He added that residents were also being provided contact numbers so they could seek assistance if they faced difficulties during the verification process.