Kolkata: In Ward 87, which straddles neighbourhoods between Rashbehari Avenue and Sarat Chatterjee Avenue, Form 7 of the Election Commission of India — used to object to a person’s inclusion in the voters’ list and seek deletion — was filed against 12 electors in a single booth. All of them are Muslims.Among the names were DIG North Bengal Syed Waqar Raza, heritage conservationist Mudar Patherya, and four members of a family residing on Sarat Bose Road who are known to mayor Firhad Hakim’s daughter Saba.
In the neighbouring ward 89, Form 7 was submitted against 40 electors in one electoral booth. All of them are Muslims. Among those whose names were submitted were rights activist Md Faruque-ul Islam and former Indian Oil executive Sk Golam Mehboob, along with his wife Flora and daughter Shabana.Most of them learnt about the objection when the BLO turned up again afterwards. Till then, they thought the SIR exercise was over for them after they proved their credentials. Now, the BLO knocked on doors afresh to carry out a verification, along with live photographs of those named and their GPS coordinates, to prove that they were residents of the area.“I don’t mind furnishing proof of citizenship. But there is a problem if it is demanded of me simply because of my faith,” said Patherya. Mehboob suspected it was a deliberate move to disenfranchise those whom the BJP believed would not vote for the party. “Why else would only Muslim names figure on the list?” he wondered.Incidentally, the names of two persons surfaced behind the Form 7 imbroglio. In ward 87, the youth who allegedly filed the forms was Nabin Rai. In ward 89, Asha Das was named in an FIR filed at Charu Market PS for the harassment. Both are BJP activists. Rai is the party mandal sabhapati, or block president. Das is a member of the mahila morcha of the party state committee.While Rai claimed he submitted two names whom he knew moved out of the locality, Das denied submitting any Form 7. “Someone else may have done mischief by submitting the forms in my name,” she said.Rights activist Nousheen Baba Khan, who listed the 40 Muslim names that figured in the Form 7 list in just one part in ward 89, suspect it is a calculated move to disenfranchise non-BJP voters. “Even in another part number of the same booth, Form 7 was submitted against as many Muslims. Though the BLOs here verified their credentials, there will be many names that ultimately get deleted across the state,” she feared. The EC has clarified that an individual can submit any number of Form 7 to AEROs, EROs or DEOs.Debashis Bose, TMC ward president and husband of ward 87 councillor Manisha Bose, said he personally accompanied the BLO to all the addresses. “I spoke to Rai and told him that he should personally verify people before submitting names in Form 7, and he said he may have made some mistake. Why is the BJP afraid of people casting their votes?” he asked.
