At the Golabari Bazar crossing in Harwa in North 24 Parganas district, a huge blue and white makeshift camp cannot be missed.
Three tables were set up inside the camp, decorated with ornaments hanging from the ceiling, with a huge banner of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and No. 2 of the party, Abhishek Banerjee, forming the backdrop. Rows of chairs are neatly arranged, and about two dozen people wait, clutching their documents in small plastic bags, for their turn to be called at the table, where two men sit with a laptop and a cell phone.
This is one of thousands of SIR Sahayat Kendra (SIR Help Centres) set up by the ruling Trinamool Congress across West Bengal since the start of the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state on November 4.
“We solve all SIR-related problems here. We guide people on what to do if they have any document-related problems. We try our best to help them. If necessary, we refer them to others,” said Mohammad Alamgir, Local Booth Level Assistant (BLA) of TMC, pointing to the slogan ‘Banglar Vote Rakkharte’ (Save the Voice of Bengal) written on a huge banner inside the camp.
Standing in front of him is Duldar Bibi (60), a resident of Golabari. Her concern: “The spelling of her name in the 2002 SIR list and the name on her voter card is different.”
“Don’t worry. Just put the name as it appears in the 2002 SIR list in the form given to you by the BLO. Even if the spelling is wrong, so be it. It can be corrected later, but your name should appear first in the electoral list after the SIR,” Alamgir tells her.
Asad Ali (58 years old) also shared the same problem with Alamgir.
Forty-year-old Sophia Bibi was in the camp to find her name on the 2002 voter list.
Story continues below this ad
“In the last three days, more than 300 people have visited this camp, and we have helped them. If someone’s name is in the SIR list of 2002 or in the voter list of any other year, we hand over hard copies to him free of charge. A majority of people come with the problem of writing their names wrong either in the electoral roll or in their voter ID card,” Alamgir said.
The camp began by training TMC workers so they can help fill out census forms correctly. “We have pilot models that we are using to train our workers. They will help people fill out the forms correctly,” Alamgir added.
For Alamgir, the complex issue that has so far come to the fore is the single EPIC number assigned to the couple.
“Muzammil Haque and his wife Khadija Bibi had two EPIC numbers in 2002. But in 2005, they were included in the electoral roll with the same EPIC number. This is something that is difficult for us to overcome,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
“If we face a problem that we cannot solve, I will approach the block supervisors (TMC), who may approach the district supervisors. Then, there are our MLAs and block presidents. We have a hierarchical system here to solve problems,” said Alamgir, a panchayat level supervisor of the party.
On the day the SIR was implemented in poll-bound West Bengal, along with eight other states, the TMC supremo led a massive padayatra in Kolkata against the Election Commission exercise and urged people to seek help from help centers set up by the party. “If you don’t have the papers, go to the ward offices, municipal offices or gram panchayat offices. If you can’t go anywhere, come to our camps. I want to help you all, and all your names should be there. I’m not sure who you will vote for, but I can help you. We will fight in the streets and in the courts too,” she added, “proyojone thalabati beche sahajyo korbo (if needed), we will sell our tools to help you all.”
Explaining their work, the TMC members said a network of smaller assistance centers has also been set up in Gram panchayats linked to the party block and district leadership.
“We remain open from 10 am to 5 pm. However, we do not leave until all visitors are heard and their problems are resolved or referred to others,” said Abdul Hanif, a TMC ward member.
Story continues below this ad
Speaking to Indian Express over phone, a TMC youth leader in Barasat said that within two days of setting up camp in Sachan gram panchayat, more than 90 people came with their problems. “The problems included correcting names in various documents and SIR list issues. We have also formed teams that will visit these people at their homes to solve their problems,” said Ziaul Islam, who is also Pradhan’s MP in Sachan Gram Panchayat.
When asked about the opposition parties conspicuous by their absence from the area, Islam said: “Twenty-five names of BJP workers in our area have been submitted as BJP members. None of them have turned up so far. We contacted some of them and asked them to come as this is not the time for elections. They refused,” Islam added.
In Kirtipur gram panchayat, TMC leaders said their help center has been set up near the BLO residence. Muhammad Kalimullah, one of the workers at the medical center and in charge of the center, said: “In the past two days, we have filled out forms for at least 110 people. This is after verifying their details in their documents.”
(tags for translation)SIR of Electoral Lists
