New Delhi: “Pehle vote gaya, phir jhuggi gayi,” rued domestic help Maya Devi (58) from Mayur Vihar Phase-I. Her name and those of her two daughters are missing from electoral rolls, while her husband and son are listed.
On top of that, her shanty has been demolished, forcing five members of the family to squeeze into a tiny kitchen-cum-room near Pillar 1 of Mayur Vihar metro station. But he never came to me,” she said, adding that she has been living in Delhi since she was 13 and has voted in every election, including the 2025 assembly polls. Kamal, a teacher from Bela Estate, said he had been voting since 2002 and that his name was on the rolls last year as well. “I was born here in 1986. My grandfather came here in 1913, and my father is around 70. Now, we are being told we are encroachers, though we submitted more than 500 enrolment forms,” he said.
“I called up the BLO to help me fill out the form so that I could re-enter the list.
Former Bengal MP Tarun Mondal said his name was struck off despite his family completing the enrolment process. Claiming that he had written to “everyone”, from Prime Minister to President, about the deletion, he said, “How could I have been an MP if I was not a voter of India? Does that mean I am a Bangladeshi?” he asked, adding that only President responded to him.
The hearing also flagged “logical discrepancies” used to question voters’ eligibility, including the number of siblings and small age gaps between parents and children. Muslims were more frequently flagged for such discrepancies at the notice stage in Delhi and Karnataka, according to the findings by Voter Adhikar Manch. Sabir Ahmed, who conducted a citizens’ audit in Bengal, said the use of AI to flag these anomalies failed to account for social realities, including early marriages and motherhood.