Cooch Behar: Residents of the former enclaves, who had been gripped by anxiety since the launch of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, have finally breathed a sigh of relief following the publication of the draft voter list. Despite not being listed in the 2002 voter rolls, these residents became Indian citizens on July 31, 2015, after the historic Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
Uncertainty prevailed during the SIR process as the enumeration forms provided to former enclave residents did not clearly specify the procedure applicable to them. Fearing exclusion from the electoral rolls, residents staged protests, following which the administration assured them that their concerns would be addressed. With the release of the draft list, those assurances now appear to have been fulfilled.
According to sources, the draft electoral roll includes the names of almost all eligible former enclave residents, while entries that did not meet eligibility criteria have been removed in accordance with existing rules.
Jainal Abedin, a resident of Madhya Mashaldanga, a former enclave, said that widespread apprehension had prevailed in the area after the SIR process began. “There was uncertainty over whether our names, or those of our family members, would be included, as we were not on the 2002 voter list. This concern was common across all former enclaves.
However, after the draft list was published, our fears have been allayed. The names of all eligible voters have been included, and there are no issues regarding women who were married outside the enclave,” he said.
District administration officials said that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were instructed to clearly identify former enclave residents during the SIR by marking them as “enclave residents” in the forms, along with their religion. This verification process ensured the smooth inclusion of eligible voters from all 57 former enclaves in Cooch Behar district.