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The IDPs fear that many of them still lack formal documents or proof of residence and may once again face deletion from electoral rolls, thereby losing their fundamental right to vote in both states. (Representational image)
An association of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking their inclusion in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state. These people were forced to migrate to neighbouring states in the early 2000s, especially after the Salwa Judum movement.
The letter, written on December 12 by the Valasa Adivasulu Samakhya and signed by its president, Kartam Kosa, states, “We wish to bring to your urgent attention the serious risk of disenfranchisement of thousands of IDPs from the Maoist-affected regions of Chhattisgarh, who have been living for years in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after fleeing violence. Many such families have been residing outside Chhattisgarh for 10–15 years, but no official survey or verification mechanism has ever been conducted to recognise or document their displacement. During the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls, BLOs in Chhattisgarh have been removing names of IDPs on the ground of ‘non-residence’, without considering their conflict-induced displacement, and without issuing proper notice or giving them an opportunity to respond.”
The letter states that excluding them from the SIR without issuing a proper notice or giving them an opportunity to respond constitutes a violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The IDPs fear that many of them still lack formal documents or proof of residence and may once again face deletion from electoral rolls, thereby losing their fundamental right to vote in both states. The IDPs have urged the ECI to issue an advisory prohibiting the deletion of names of conflict-displaced voters from Chhattisgarh without field verification and due notice.
They have requested a joint verification survey of their households, allowing them to maintain electoral registration in their home constituencies until a documented rehabilitation/settlement process is completed and recognising their IDP status as a valid reason for absence from the original residence and permit re-registration in the host states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The Indian Express had reported in September that thousands of tribals who fled their homes from Bastar are now living with a non-tribal status in neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where they are struggling for land and identity. Since 2019, IDPs have been fighting an ongoing case in the National Scheduled Tribes Commission (NCST) seeking rehabilitation and compensation. The NCST has now asked Chhattisgarh to provide an exact number of such IDPs before any further action can be taken.
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