By NE NOW NEWS
Aizawl: The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) on Tuesday called for scrutiny of suspected illegal foreigners in the state’s electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging a 121.7 per cent rise in voter numbers and the emergence of 97 new villages in Chakma-dominated areas since 2005.
Addressing a press conference in Aizawl, MZP president C. Lalremruata said the student body had conducted an independent analysis comparing the 2005 electoral rolls with the 2024 lists in constituencies that have historically witnessed concerns over illegal immigration.
According to the MZP, voter numbers in 195 villages identified by the organisation as vulnerable to illegal immigration increased from 43,540 in 2005 to 96,531 in 2024. Lalremruata said 98 villages that appeared in both the 2005 and 2024 rolls recorded a 31.15 per cent increase in voters, while 97 villages that were absent from the 2005 rolls but appeared in the 2024 lists accounted for 39,428 voters.
He alleged that the analysis had also revealed cases of dual Indian and Bangladeshi citizenship and voter entries without valid house numbers.
The MZP president said the organisation would soon submit a formal complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer, seeking detailed verification of all 195 villages identified in its review, including areas where the SIR exercise has already been completed.
The student body urged election authorities and booth-level officers to remove individuals illegally enrolled in the electoral rolls. Lalremruata recalled that MZP members had assisted poll officials during the 1995 SIR exercise, which resulted in the deletion of more than 10,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the voter list.
Meanwhile, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Ethel Rothangpuii said the SIR exercise is underway across the state and is expected to be completed by June 28.
She said voters whose family records could not be traced to the 2005 SIR would be permanently deleted from the electoral rolls. The draft rolls will be published on July 4, followed by a period for filing claims and objections from July 5 to August 4, she added.