In Bihar, forms, fear and the right to vote

A revision of voter rolls has sparked chaos and questions; ECI believes the fear is overblown but people on the ground are not so certain

- Anirban Guha Roy and Dhrubo Jyoti

Jitender Kumar navigates the noisy market in Danapur, Bihar like a man on a mission. Which the primary school teacher is. He is also behind schedule, despite setting out at 8 am. Then he’s at his next stop, the kind of shopping complex that multinationals should have wiped out but couldn't. He hollers, “Hum aa gaye hain (I am here)”. Inside, there is commotion.

Sanjay Gupta, Rupali Gupta, Riti Gupta, Dipanshu Gupta, he rattles the names off. “Have you filled the paper?”

Sanjay Gupta, the head of the household, has filled the “paper” — a partially filled form given by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with details of an elector - but has made one mistake, pasting the photograph in the wrong box. “What'll happen now? Will my name not come?”

Pulling out a dirty green plastic bag, Kumar assures him. “I am here. There's no reason to panic.” Inside, he has a sheaf of filled enumeration forms from other electors. Instantly, he is battling a volley of questions — someone has an Aadhaar, but no birth certificate. Someone has an electricity bill with an address, will that do? Someone is now married and lives in a different part of the district, so whose address should she give? Will an LIC certificate do? Someone didn't know the English spelling of their name and so has struck through the initial erroneous attempt. Someone hasn‘t understood the meaning of EPIC (elector photo identity card).

“There are so many questions, and no one can give all the right answers,” says Kumar.