“This is just the enumeration form, you have to show us nothing now,” says Sahabuddin Mondol, 37, a school teacher deputed as a Booth Level Officer (BLO), as he makes his way from one house to another in the Kajipara area of Barasat, the district headquarters of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal.
At 10.30 am, Mondol, armed with a large plastic bag containing enumeration forms, steps out of his home in Kajipara. As a BLO, Mondol has been assigned the Jagadighata Kajipara Dakshin area, which falls within the Barasat Assembly seat. In Mondol’s list are 1,287 voters under polling booth number 152 at the Kajipara Girls School.
Waiting for Mondol at his doorstep is Abbas Ali, a booth-level agent (BLA) of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), along with Anjura Khatun, who says she is a local ASHA worker. However, no Opposition party has sent a representative to monitor the SIR exercise in Kajipara.
“I didn’t sleep till 1 am last night. I was sorting out the papers (enumeration forms). It’s a mammoth task. No notifications had been issued either from my school or from the EC that we are on duty for the SIR. So I think today will be a casual leave for me. I don’t know about tomorrow,” says Mondol, who teaches at the Borgachiya Adarsha High Madrasa in nearby Amdanga.
As he goes door to door, handing out enumeration forms, he tells voters, “You will have to fill up the form. You don’t have to give any documents now. If your father’s and mother’s name is in the 2002 SIR list, mention it in the form. There is no reason to panic. You will have to fill up two forms. I will once again visit on November 15 to receive the forms. So take your time and fill it carefully.”
After the first few houses, a group of local youths begin to tag along with Mondol, helping the BLO carry the enumeration forms.
But after visiting a few more houses, the BLO app, through which Mondol is required to submit the proof of distribution of the enumeration forms, begins to malfunction. “It’s not working. I cannot upload. I will have to do it later,” Mondol tells voters.
At the residence of Tanjina Bibi, the BLO says that two voters’ names have been deleted from the rolls owing to duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs). “Both of their names have been deleted from my list because they have their names somewhere else. Please tell them to fill forms there,” he tells Tanjina.
“Sheikh Surul and Moslema Bibi are my father- and mother-in-law,” says Tanjina. “They may have voter cards in Deganga (about 10km away). I will inform them that their names have been deleted here.”
By noon, Mondol’s supervisor, Jayanta Das, arrives in the area to be briefed by the BLO.
“I have 13 BLOs under me. I am coordinating between BLOs and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs). I have to oversee that work is going on smoothly and BLOs are doing their duty. Also, if they face any problems, I will have to report to the higher-ups. I am the liaison,” said Das, before speeding off on his motorbike to meet other BLOs.
At the residence of Arif Hossain, the BLO discovers that his parents Abu Hussain and Laila Bibi have both passed away, as had Sheikh Shakir, Arif and his wife Monjira Bibi’s son. “My son died last year in an accident,” Monjira tells the BLO.
It’s early days for the SIR exercise but already Mondol is fielding question after question from uncertain voters.
“I don’t have my name in the 2002 list. My wife does. What should I do” asks Ektaruddin Sheikh, a Kajipara resident.
“What about my two daughters-in-law? What should I fill in the form for them? They are not from here,” says another local, Nazrul Islam.
“I have seen on social media that a marriage registration certificate will do? Is this true?” says Rafiqul Sheikh.
“My wife’s name is spelt differently in different documents. What will I do? If our names are deleted, what will happen to us,” asks Sheikh Noor Islam.
Mondol patiently answers their queries, still flanked by TMC agent Abbas Ali and ASHA worker Anjura Khatun, who are knocking on doors for the BLO and help him identify voters’ serial numbers.
“No need to worry,” says Ali at one house. “They may try as much as they want. Our government is here. No one’s name will be deleted.”
“We are helping the BLO as much as we can. We have to ensure that no genuine voters’ names get deleted,” Abbas tells The Indian Express.
When asked about the absence of Opposition parties’ BLAs, Ali says, “There is a bonhomie among all parties here. This is a peaceful area. Only during polls do we compete against each other. I don’t know why they are not here.”
Anjura Khatun says she agreed to help the BLO as she knows the area well. “It is improper for men to just barge into someone’s house. I know the area and therefore I am helping,” she says.
At 3.30 pm, Mondol’s day comes to an end. “Today, we visited 44 houses and I gave enumeration forms to 182 voters. There was some problem with my app, but later it worked. Some did not have their names in the 2002 list. About 60% of the questions I got were regarding different spellings of names in different documents. This is just the first day and just the start. We have a long way to go,” he says.