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BLAs in Delhi bypassed EC’s 10-form daily limit using poll panel’s own portal…

Fresh lapses have come to light in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Delhi, with official data showing that booth-level agents (BLAs) bypassed the Election Commission’s (EC) cap on submitting only 10 applications a day during the claims and objections phase by filing through the panel’s ECINET portal, which has no such restriction in place. The software has no mechanism to impose the prescribed limit, effectively allowing the guidelines to be bypassed.

An analysis of Form 10 reports — a

An analysis of Form 10 reports — a public list of all objections to the inclusion of names in electoral rolls — put out between September 21 and 27 shows that four individuals filed more than 10 applications a day.

One of them — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

One of them — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BLA Chitresh Chandoliya — filed 35 objections in two days — 12 on September 21 and 23 on September 22.

In one case, 20-year-old Apoorv Dwivedy, a resident

In one case, 20-year-old Apoorv Dwivedy, a resident of Sangam Vihar, appeared to have filed an objection through Form 7 against his own name citing ‘death’ as the reason.

Form 7 is the document used to object

Form 7 is the document used to object to the inclusion of a voter’s name in the electoral roll or to request the deletion of a name from the roll.

When reached for comment, Mr. Chitresh, son of

When reached for comment, Mr. Chitresh, son of BJP’s North West Delhi MP Yogender Chandoliya, said, “I filed all the Form 7s online. If I were to submit the forms to the EC office, I wouldn’t be allowed more than 10.” He added, “You need to be a party-appointed BLA to fill forms in bulk. For online, there is no such condition. I log in like any other citizen and use Aadhaar authentication to fill forms. There is no section to specify that I am a BLA.” Form 10 reports are available on ECINET for seven days. When reached for comment, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashok Kumar’s office did not respond.

The poll panel’s guidelines state that BLAs of

The poll panel’s guidelines state that BLAs of recognised political parties may file applications in bulk, subject to the condition that a BLA “shall not submit more than” 10 forms a day after publication of the draft electoral roll.

The guidelines also require applications received through Forms

The guidelines also require applications received through Forms 6 (for inclusion), 7 and 8 (for modification) to be computerised and uploaded on the Delhi CEO’s website daily, in addition to the other consolidated statutory reports.

The application-level details have not been published on

The application-level details have not been published on the CEO’s website nearly a month into the claims and objections period, official data show.

All Form 7s filed by the BJP BLA

All Form 7s filed by the BJP BLA for residents of Karol Bagh cited ‘absent/permanently shifted’ as the reason. He said people concerned either did not live at the addresses mentioned in the roll or had sold their houses, including 15 women who married and moved out of the area or city.

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BLAs in Delhi bypassed EC’s 10-form daily limit using poll panel’s own portal, data show

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Source: The Hindu

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