BJP Cadres Make Up Nearly Two-Thirds Of Booth-Level Agents In Gujarat SIR Implementation
Ahmedabad, Gujarat: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadre has reportedly constituted nearly two-thirds of the total number of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) deployed to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Gujarat, The New Indian Express reported citing an RTI report.
The report pointed out that out of a total of 73,169 BLAs appointed across Gujarat, a staggering 49,168 belonged to the BJP. The Congress party had only 18,057 BLAs, far behind the ruling BJP, while the AAP managed to have 5,893 BLAs, suggesting sharp political imbalance in the Gujarat’s SIR process, exposing issues in the booth-level machinery in the state.
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While the BSP had just 49, CPI(M) only 25, and the National People’s Party none at all. The SIR was started in Gujarat after the monsoon season, when thousands of migrant workers daily-wage earners, construction labourers, farmhands. were away from their villages.
Notably, many of those people were not even aware of how to fill the SIR form, and what documents to attach and how to prove 2002 electoral mapping?
An administrative maze for many voters, people mostly fell upon the BLAs who were meant to guide BLOs in the vacuum of awareness and availability.
As one single party is overrepresented at the administrative level, the neutrality of that assistance becomes a legitimate concern, raising questions about the BLAs influence in the whole process.
