What is Form 6? TMC claims voters from Bihar, UP added to Bengal electoral rolls ...
Protests have raged across West Bengal this week after the ruling TMC alleged attempts to manipulate voter lists ahead of polls. An application form for new voters is at the crux of the controversy — with the party claiming the BJP submitted nearly 30,000 copies of Form 6 in a single day to register residents of other states as voters. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee also reiterated the allegations in a recent letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“Voters are being brought from Bihar, and their names are being added to the voter list. This issue was raised on February 27 last year, but even after 13 months, no action has been taken. There are videos which reveal how BJP leaders are involved in this,” TMC MP Kirti Azad alleged on Tuesday.
“We have drawn the urgent intervention of the CEO, demanding that these anomalies be rectified immediately. We are appalled at the role of the Chief Election Commissioner, who has failed to reply to a single communication from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about multiple discrepancies and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision exercise of electoral rolls,” added senior party leader Derek O’Brien.
The party has alleged that many of the last-minute forms were for individuals already enrolled as voters in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. O’Brien and state minister Bratya Basu also cited five specific cases (and shared the relevant EPIC numbers) where voters had been enrolled simultaneously in Bihar and Bengal. Basu alleged that such discrepancies indicate “systematic misuse” of enumeration forms, Form 6 applications, and confirm lapses in verification during the preparation of supplementary electoral rolls.
What is Form 6?
It is the official form used by the Election Commission for the enrollment of new voters. It is processed by a local Electoral Registration Officer and requires applicants to provide self-attested proof of age and residence. Form 6 does not require formal proof of citizenship — relying instead on a self-declaration from the applicant and penalties for false claims.
Booth Level Agents of political parties are allowed to submit a maximum of 50 forms for inclusion or deletion per day. The data is verified by a Booth-Level Officer upon submission, and the Electoral Registration Officer includes them in the voter rolls once satisfied that the applicant is an eligible citizen.
There is only a small window of opportunity left for Form 6 submissions in poll-bound Bengal. Additions must be processed before the nomination deadlines (on April 6 and April 9) for the electors to be eligible to vote.
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