BLOs, too, may get calls from judges for scrutinyof docus

Kolkata: Scrutiny and final disposal of about 60 lakh special intensive revision (SIR)-related complaints pending before the high court-appointed panel will not be a mere tabletop exercise. Assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) or supervisors reportedly alerted booth level officers that judicial magistrates may also call them to learn about the cases marked in 3 categories, such as ‘no record found', ‘logical discrepancy' and ‘no mapping'. If judges are convinced about the authenticity of voters, their names may find a place in the final roll.Till midnight on Monday, micro-observers or roll observers flipped through the files again of those electors whose documents were not uploaded, but no decision could be made based on their observations, sources said. No document other than those specified by the EC was uploaded, while several electors did not turn up for hearing.
Sources said the judges, while going through these files, may call the respective BLOs to check the authenticity of electors, and their feedback may be viewed as one of the crucial deciding factors. A BLO in Tollygunge said, "This morning my AERO called me, asking me to segregate the cases where the uploading of electors' enumeration forms along with documents remains pending. He told me that the judge may also question me about the voters in the pending category. I am keeping their documents ready." An ERO said as the BLOs worked at the ground level since the rollout of SIR, they were aware of the electors' status better than others, such as supervisors or AEROs, who were not assigned field visits. "Besides, the BLOs also accompanied the electors who appeared for hearing. So, it is likely that the judges, in a bid to dispose of the pending cases, will also have a word with the BLOs. Hence, the AEROs have alerted them," said the ERO. The BLOs raised concerns that there were some voters without the EC-specified documents under certain circumstances, especially marginalised sections like daily labourers, who are genuine voters. Swapan Mondal, general secretary of a BLO outfit Votekarmi & BLO Aikya Mancha, said, "BLOs may get a chance to speak in front of judges for these voters whose names might be struck off from the roll. In those cases, BLOs can be their witnesses, but the final decision is likely to be taken on the basis of the documents submitted by the electors."