Aizawl, Jun 23: An influential students’ group of Mizoram on Tuesday demanded a rigorous purge of suspected illegal foreigners from the voters’ list in the ongoing SIR, alleging a staggering 121 per cent increase in the electoral roll and the emergence of nearly 100 new villages in Chakma-majority areas in the southern part of the state.
The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) claimed that its internal analysis of electoral data revealed an alarming demographic shift in the Chakma areas that threatened the integrity of Mizoram’s voter base.
MZP president C Lalremruata said that to ensure a fair and proper implementation of the Special Intensive Roll Revision (SIR), the organisation has scrutinised several constituencies that have historically experienced rapid growth in foreign population.
“The MZP conducted an independent analysis comparing the base 2005 roll with the 2024 lists and has discovered an exponential increase in voter numbers and emergence of 97 new villages specifically in Chakma-dominated areas that did not exist in 2005,” Lalremruata told a news conference here.
He alleged that in 195 villages, which have long been flagged for suspected illegal immigration, the voter count has skyrocketed from 43,540 in 2005 to 96,531 in 2024, a massive jump of 121.7 per cent.
According to figures compiled by the MZP, voter numbers in 98 villages that appeared in both the 2005 and 2024 electoral rolls increased from 43,540 to 57,103, registering a relatively normal growth of 31.15 per cent, he said.
Lalremruata also said that a total of 97 new villages that did not exist in the 2005 Electoral Roll but appeared by the time of the 2024 roll recorded 39,428 voters.
He also claimed that they uncovered cases of dual Indian and Bangladeshi citizenship, and voter entries without valid house numbers during the analysis.
The MZP leader said that they will soon submit a formal complaint to the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), seeking detailed verification of all 195 villages identified in its review, even if the SIR has already been completed in those areas.
Finding it unacceptable that genuine citizens of Mizoram continue to face hardships due to foreigners, the MZP urged the CEO and other state election officials to remove all individuals illegally registered on the electoral roll through the SIR.
It further urged the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to work with honesty and integrity, and to have the courage to remove non-citizens.
Citing its historical involvement in electoral roll verification, Lalremruata recalled that the MZP functionaries had travelled across the state and assisted election officials during the SIR in 1995, which resulted in the removal of over 10,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the rolls, including more than 4,000 voters from Tlabung constituency in Lunglei district alone.
Meanwhile, state Joint CEO Ethel Rothangpuii told PTI that the SIR exercise is currently underway in all parts of the state and is expected to be completed by June 28.
She said that any voter whose relatives are not traceable in the 2005 SIR will be permanently deleted from the voter list.
The draft rolls will be published on July 4, which will be followed by a period for filing claims and objections from July 5 to August 4, Rothangpuii said.(PTI)
