Arrah: A few months prior to the assembly elections in Bihar, the Election Commission has found itself embroiled in controversy following the announcement of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list. Throughout this process, allegations of irregularities have emerged, and since the release of the draft voter list, reports of voter name deletions and other anomalies have consistently surfaced.In this context, it has been revealed that the names of several family members residing in ward number ten of the Bhojpur district headquarters of Arrah have been omitted from the draft list.Seventy-four-year-old Mary Toppo, who worked as a teacher in a Montessori school in Arrah, has been erroneously listed as deceased in the deletion list, while the names of her three sons – 40-year-old Chandan Toppo, 38-year-old Clarence Toppo and 36-year-old Albert Toppo – who live in the same ward have been included in the ‘shifted’ list.The list of discrepancies does not end here. Mary’s gender has been incorrectly altered and she has been classified as male. Additionally, her late husband Sylvester Toppo’s name has been recorded as that of her father, and her age has been inaccurately reduced by ten years to 64.Mary informed The Wire Hindi: “I am alive, yet the government has labeled me as dead. Had the list not been released, we would have remained unaware. In fact, I participated in the last Lok Sabha elections and my entire family voted as well.”Her son Clarence stated, “When I inquired with the booth-level officer (BLO) regarding my mother being declared dead, he explained that it was based on an age assessment.”He explained: “Throughout the SIR process, the BLO neither visited our home nor reached out to anyone in our family. Once the list was finalised, the names were published, but we did not take notice at that time.“Later, when the new list was displayed at the booth, my friend Abhishek Dwivedi informed me that my name was marked as ‘shifted’ and my mother’s name was listed as ‘deceased’. That is when we became aware of the situation. Subsequently, the BLO visited our home and collected our documents, assuring us that our names would be included.”Clarence further stated, “When I asked the BLO why he had not made contact sooner, he explained that the previous ward councilor had refused to recognise me, and the current councillor also failed to verify my identity, resulting in the removal of my name and my family’s name.”In the draft list, Mary Toppo is labelled ‘deceased’ and her sons as ‘shifted’. Photo: Ashutosh Kumar Pandey.Mary remarked, “Ever since I married Sylvester Toppo, I have resided in Arrah for nearly 50 years. The students at the Montessori school are well acquainted with me. I am recognised by the community. I am in good health and conversing with you, yet I am listed as deceased in the voter registry.”Clarence’s friend Dwivedi said, “Following the publication of the deletion list, I visited booth number 223 at Yadav Vidyapeeth Plus Two High School. There, I found that Clarence’s name was marked as ‘shifted’ and his mother’s name was written as ‘deceased’. I then informed Clarence about it.”When Abhay Srivastava alias Bablu, the councillor for ward number 12, was contacted regarding this matter, he stated over the phone, “The BLO provided me with the list. I instructed him to conduct an investigation on his own. Perhaps someone told him that Clarence’s mother passed away, which led the BLO to include her in the deceased list.”Conversely, BLO Vinod Kumar Yadav remarked, “In Mary Toppo’s case, her father’s name was mentioned instead of her husband’s, and her age was noted as 74 years. She was declared deceased because her identity could not be verified at the local level.”It is evident that the BLO declared an elderly woman as deceased without conducting any investigation and also removed her sons from the draft roll.Author K.D. Singh’s name missing from the listThere are additional issues present in the draft list. The name of K.D. Singh, a 87-year-old Hindi and Bhojpuri author who resides in Chandwa, Arrah, is absent from both the draft roll and the deletion list.Singh has authored a dozen books in Hindi and Bhojpuri and has also translated the Rigveda into Bhojpuri.He stated, “During the intensive revision program, the BLO came and collected my Aadhar card. However, my name does not appear in the draft list. The deletion list was published following the Supreme Court’s orders, and my name is not included there either. However, my wife Yashoda Devi, who is 85, is listed.”The name of 87-year-old author K.D. Singh is absent from both the draft list and the deletion list. Photo: Ashutosh Kumar Pandey.Singh discussed his published works, saying, “I began my career in the Indian Postal Service in 1961 and retired in January 1998. Since then, I have been publishing books. The government is making life difficult for the average citizen. Individuals are required to repeatedly present documents to verify their identity. At times, it is demonetisation; at other times, it is a ban on voting, causing distress to the common man.“My wife and I reside here, while our children live abroad. It is necessary to summon someone to verify the name. We cast our votes from this list in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. How could such an error occur so swiftly? If the voter list needs to be amended, it should be done correctly; rushing will only lead to further complications.”He added, “The current method of updating the voter list is rushed. The BLO visited again, but I am uncertain about his next steps. I possess my job and pension documents, but the elderly who have not worked may lack any documentation.”He commended the Supreme Court’s directive to incorporate the Aadhaar card into the SIR’s claims and objections process.BLOs in distressCurrently, as the deadline for corrections to the draft list approaches, a sense of disorder prevails among the general public.A BLO on the condition of anonymity stated, “It is extremely challenging to visit every household and confirm voter identities within such a limited timeframe. My health is also declining. We are required to work throughout the night. The Election Commission ought to have allocated additional time.”The writer is an independent journalist.This article originally appeared on The Wire Hindi and was translated by Naushin Rehman.As the election process comes under scrutiny, read The Wire’s coverage of the Bihar SIR, opposition’s allegations and more, here.