Ranchi, September 05, 2026: Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi has questioned the Jharkhand government’s decision to issue income, caste and residence certificates through offline processes while the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway.
In a post on social media platform X on Saturday, Marandi alleged that the move could affect the voter-list revision process. He accused the state government of using various means to influence the SIR exercise.
Marandi also claimed that a BJP worker authorised as a Booth Level Agent (BLA-2) in Godda had been taken into custody. The claim was made as part of his broader allegations regarding the conduct of the revision exercise.
Babu Marandi raises concerns over voter numbers in Santhal Pargana
The BJP leader also questioned the alleged participation of government officials in a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha programme in Sahibganj.
He referred to what he described as an unusual rise in the number of voters belonging to a particular community between 2019 and 2024 in assembly constituencies including Pakur, Rajmahal, Littipara and Maheshpur in the Santhal Pargana region.
Marandi expressed concern that offline certificates could potentially be misused to facilitate the inclusion of ineligible persons in electoral rolls or protect names that may have been incorrectly included.
Seeks Election Commission intervention
Marandi urged the Election Commission to ensure that the SIR exercise is completed independently, transparently and without political pressure.
He also called for scrutiny of what he described as unusual increases in voter numbers and verification of potentially doubtful entries.
The BJP leader said the process should protect the rights of eligible voters while ensuring that ineligible names do not remain on the electoral rolls.
