Bihar polls: 1.54 lakh booth-level agents appointed; BJP tops list with 52K

New Delhi: Political parties in Bihar have appointed around 1.54 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), where a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have been rolled out, with the BJP topping the list, assigning nearly 52,000 party workers as its booth agents.

According to the statistics provided by the Election Commission (EC), RJD follows BJP in appointing Booth Level Agents (BLAs) at 47,143 and JD(U) with 27,931. BJP has so far appointed 51,964 BLAs.

Congress has appointed 8,586 BLAs, while LJP has 2,457, RLSP 264, CPI(ML)L 233, CPI(M) 76 and BSP (26) with the EC seeking active involvement of all parties in the process by appointing their BLAs.

Even as Opposition raised objections to the exercise just months ahead of the Bihar polls, EC sources said all parties in Bihar are participating actively in SIR at the booth level by appointing around 1.54 lakh party workers as BLAs till now.

They said parties are in the process of appointing more and more BLAs for proper verification of the electoral rolls. EC sources said parties should appoint their BLAs in polling stations now rather than finding faults with the electoral rolls later.

According to the EC order on June 24, voters who have their names in the 2003 electoral rolls would not need to attach any additional document along with the Enumeration Form, except the extract of the roll as their eligibility as a voter was established then.

However, any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 rolls will have to submit from “amongst a wide range of eligible government documents” for establishing their eligibility.

While the Bihar exercise has started, the EC would be announcing the schedule for an SIR across India in due course. The order has said that the EC has now decided to begin the SIR in the entire country "for the discharge of its constitutional mandate" to protect the integrity of the electoral rolls.

In 2002 and 2003, the EC had conducted intensive revision of rolls in 27 states and union territories.

The Intensive Revision was held in 20 states and UTs-- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Lakashdweep and Puducherry were held in 2002.

In 2003, the exercise was held in Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh.