Amidst the drama of INDI Alliance on Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter list in Bihar, Election Commission has asked 5 questions to every citizen. These are the same questions which OpIndia heard people asking during its ground reporting in Bihar.
People of Bihar have rejected the ‘vote chori’ campaign of Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, and said that the dead, duplicates, and people from Bangladesh should be removed from the voter list. OpIndia’s correspondent spoke to people in the same areas of Bhagalpur, Purnia, Katihar, and Araria from where Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ has passed.
The questions asked by the Election Commission while seeking cooperation for voter list authentication are:
1- Should there be a thorough checking of the voter list or not?
2- Should the names of deceased people be removed or not?
3- If someone’s name is in two or more places in the voter list, should it be kept in only one place or not?
4- Should the names of those people be removed who have moved to another place?
5- Should the names of foreigners be removed or not?
The public dismissed claims of ‘vote chori’ and blamed Congress
When the people of Bihar were asked whether their names have been added to the voter list, everyone said that their names have been added. The people said that Election Commission is adding votes online and the BLOs themselves are coming to people’s homes to add names to the voter list. In Bhagalpur district, Congress is massively pushing the issue of ‘vote chori’, though people’s main concern is only development. In the district of Katihar, people openly expressed their anger towards Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav when OpIndia spoke to them.
OpIndia spoke to several voters across various districts of Bihar to gauge the mood of the public over the SIR.
Vipin from Purnia said, “I added my son and daughter’s name in the voter list online.” On the cancellation of votes, he said, “Names of dead people will be cancelled. If the name remains, anyone can vote by using their Aadhar card.”
Rakesh Ranjan, who has a tea stall in Bhagalpur, said, “You (Congress) won Karnataka, Telangana, then the Election Commission was not bad, then the Commission was working fine. Now what has happened in Bihar that vote chori has happened. Where you win, the votes are correct and where you lose, the votes are stolen. The people of Bihar are not blind. The Nitish-Modi government is good.”
Midhuranjan, a resident of Zero Mile in Bhagalpur, said, “Earlier as well, it (Congress) was the one who used to do ‘vote chori’. Ballot box after ballot box were thrown into the river. In one panchayat, a voter used to vote 10 times. Now after the Modi government, vote chori through EVM has stopped. Now a lot has changed. SIR is a good process, it should be done everywhere.”
He further saaid, “BLOs are going from house to house. Anganwadi workers work the whole day. There is no ‘vote chori’ anywhere. Tejashwi Yadav cannot understand the pain of the poor people. We have seen Bihar changing under the Nitish government.”
Bhim Kumar Shah, a resident of Kumdi block of Katihar district, said, “The tea stall was demolished because of Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Adhikar Yatra. I have shown black flag to Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi has harmed the poor. Tejashwi Yadav will never become the Chief Minister in his life. How can a person whose father is involved in fodder scam become the Chief Minister?”
Shah further said, “Modi is giving 5 kg ration. He is doing good work for Hindu nation. Earlier, even dead people used to vote. I am a former ward member, this used to happen during my time too. I had written a letter to Amit Shah to complain about this.”
Party workers who joined the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ could not explain the grievance
Even the workers who came to join Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ said that their names are there in the voter list. but not of the others. Nobody knows who are the others here. Some people said that 5 kg ration is being provided by the government but Modi-Nitish are harassing the poor.
Islamuddin, holding RJD’s flag in his hand, said, “My name is included but names of thousands of people have been deleted.” When he was asked how many people’s names were deleted and who they were, he had no answer. Shahzad Alam, standing next to him, did not even know anything about ‘vote chori’. Shahzad said, “I have come on the Yatra for change and development. I do not know anything about vote tchori.”
Another participant, Victor Yadav, who could not even take Rahul Gandhi’s name correctly, alleged that BLO is doing fraud. However, he also confirmed that his name has been added to the list. A person standing nearby said that he has brought a flag in the name of Lalu Yadav. They were all hoping that Tejashwi Yadav government will come to power in Bihar.
Some people reached the rally who did not even know on what issue the rally was being held. One such person, Vipin Saini, said, “We were asked us to go, so we went. We do not know what vote chori is.”
The surprise came when a person who joined the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ said that he is a ‘Modi supporter’. Raising questions on the rally itself, he said, “Vote chori does not happen anywhere. Give an account of where it has happened. When the Election Commission is telling the truth, then what is the meaning of allegations of vote chori.”
Women appeared happy with the double engine government of Bihar
When women were asked about ‘vote chori’, they said, “Only those who are thieves will talk about theft.” Women were generally happy with the double engine government of Bihar. They said that PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar are messiahs of the poor.
Nitya Devi of Katihar said, “Our names have been added (in the voter list), there is no problem. Modi-Nitish give us everything. Increased pension from 400 to 1100. Modi-Nitish have worked for women.”
Mala Devi said, “Only those who are thieves will talk about theft. Rahul Gandhi wants to turn the vote against us. Modi-Nitish government works for development. Provides ration and water. Provides gas and electricity for free.”
Jhugia Devi, a resident of Haldarpur said, “BLO came to our house and added our name in the voter list. Modi-Nitish are working well. We will vote for them in the coming elections.”
A woman from Araria said, “Ration, electricity, gas cylinders are available under the Modi-Nitish government. There was no problem in adding names to the voter list. Modi-Nitish are not vote thieves.”
Bangladeshi intruders snatched rights
In Bihar’s districts like Bhagalpur and Purnia, the major problem of people is Bangladeshi infiltration. Infiltrators are constantly coming and settling in the border districts of Bihar. People say that due to this unchecked infiltration, the rights of locals are being snatched away.
Midhurajan of Bhagalpur said, “Our problem is Bangladeshi infiltrators, we are being misled with the issue of vote chori. Infiltrators come to Bhagalpur via Katihar-Purnia and then they move to Delhi. Their (Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi) focus should be on how to stop the infiltrators.”
A person living in Katihar said, “Those who have come from outside and settled here are snatching the rights of the people here. They will be removed by SIR. Bangladeshis have come from Bengal and settled here. There has been improvement since Modi-Nitish have come to power, security system has improved. Duplicate voters should be removed. Bangladeshis have built houses by paying double the money. They have snatched our daily wages.”
Bhim Kumar Shah said, “People coming from outside are consuming all the ration. These people are getting our share of rights. They are earning by settling on our land. The number of Bangladeshis has increased.”
The people of Bihar have made one thing clear, that Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi can not understand that the people are not fools. Development and other issues cannot be suppressed by raising the issue of ‘vote chori’. The people have not forgotten the ‘Jungle Raj’ that was going on 20 years ago, which has ended under the double engine government of Modi-Nitish. The opposition should now stop misleading the people of Bihar in the name of SIR.
The original Ground Report in Hindi can be read here.
