Congress MLC Satej Patil Raises Concern Over Unmapped Voters in Kolhapur
Kolhapur: Congress MLC Satej Patil has expressed concern that booth level officers (BLOs) are yet to map around 9 lakh out of 33.67 lakh registered voters in the district during the pre-special intensive revision (SIR) exercise of the electoral roll. Patil stated that the Congress party has appointed one worker to each BLO in the district to ensure every voter is mapped and gets registered.
Patil highlighted that in 12 states, under the guise of SIR, approximately 5.2 crore voters were dropped from the rolls without being given notice or an opportunity to prove their franchise. He noted that now, to prove their existence, voters will be required to line up outside government offices. The district Congress unit has developed a search engine accessible by scanning a QR code. Once accessed, voters can check who the BLO of their ward or locality is, along with their contact number.
"The Congress worker will ensure that the required documents are furnished to the BLOs if any voter from their assigned area does not appear in the electoral roll before the last SIR exercise done in 2022. We don't want any voter to be disenfranchised," said Patil.
Patil held a meeting with over 350 party workers who have been assigned the task of assisting BLOs during the mapping process. The mapping involves scrutinizing the names of individuals in the pre-2022 voters list. If a name is not found, which is likely the case for most young or migrated voters, the BLOs request documents.
"The list of documents sought by the BLOs misses key documents such as Aadhaar Card," said Patil, who himself has signed up as the party's agent to assist the BLO from his ward in Kasba Bawada area of the city. He plans to step out with the BLO on Sunday morning and visit a few homes.
