Lochan Mahto (45), also a resident of Malti Bedaulia panchayat, has a different story to tell. Mahto, in his early 40s, stated that no official (BLO) had visited his house to provide him with the forms. “We have heard about the voter verification exercise. But to date, no official or booth-level agent has visited us to provide us with forms,” he lamented.His wife, Savita Devi, who ekes out a living for the family of five, said, “We have a small piece of land but have not been able to build a house. Though my two sons and a daughter are enrolled in a local government school, we don’t have birth certificates to prove citizenship. We shudder at the thought of losing citizenship.”Many residents of Malti Bedaulia village, located barely 7 km from the Samastipur district headquarters, have complained that they have not yet received the forms. The village falls under the Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai. It has a population of about 5,000.Amrendra Pal, 53, of Nagapath at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district, contradicted the ECI’s claims that forms have been provided to all eligible electors. “There are lots of discrepancies in the distribution of forms,” he claimed. Several genuine voters will be excluded from the voter list, he feared.Musafir Manjhi, 32, a resident of Govindpur Devi Gaura village under Davaichh panchayat in Patepur (SC) assembly constituency, Vaishali, said, “I have lost both parents and am still a bachelor. I am illiterate. I will have no option but to lose my citizenship.”
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