Kirit Somaiya seeks probe into alleged illegal Garib Nagar voter mapping during Maharashtra SIR

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has written to Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam alleging irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls in the Bandra East Assembly constituency In his letter Somaiya claimed that electoral officials illegally mapped voters from the demolished Garib Nagar settlement despite the area having been cleared by authorities weeks agoThe BJP leader has urged the Election Commission of India ECI to investigate the matter and take action against officials allegedly responsible for the irregularitiesSomaiya raises objections over Garib Nagar voter mappingIn his letter titled SIR Maharashtra illegal mapping of Garib Nagar voters Somaiya raised concerns over the inclusion of voters from Garib Nagar an unauthorised settlement on railway land in Mumbai that was recently demolished by railway authorities with the assistance of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and Mumbai PoliceSIR Garib NagarBandra East Election Officialsin first phase work of SIR passed MAPPED 1296 Voters out of 2412 of Garib Nagar Bandra Mumbai in spite of Demolition of Garib Nagar Yesterday I visited the area Met Deputy Collector Election Commission Officials of Bandra amphellip pictwittercomnYg1Qeep5Amdash Kirit Somaiya KiritSomaiya July 14 2026He alleged that despite the demolition electoral officials proceeded with the voter mapping exercise during the first phase of the SIR processAccording to Somaiya the issue pertains to the voter mapping exercise carried out in the Bandra East Assembly constituencyClaims over 1200 voters were mappedSomaiya alleged that blocklevel officials cleared the mapping of 1296 voters out of a total of 2412 voters associated with Garib Nagar even though the settlement no longer existedIn the letter Somaiya stated We are shocked that the concerned blocklevel officials in the first round of SIR have cleared mapping of 1296 voters out of 2412 voters of Garib Nagar Bandra EastThe BJP leader further claimed that the demolition had already been brought to the attention of the Electoral Registration Officer ERO for Bandra East and the concerned Booth Level Officers BLOs but the information was allegedly ignoredIt may be please noted that Garib Nagar unauthorised encroachment on railway property has been demolished few weeks back by the railway officials with the help of Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Police Somaiya said in the letterBJP leader questions officials actionsQuestioning why the mapping exercise continued after the demolition Somaiya alleged that electoral officials completed the verification despite knowing that no residents remained at the siteWhen anybody everybody including the BLO and the ERO knows that Garib Nagar is demolished nobody staying there then also in the first round of SIR they completed the mapping workHe also alleged that instead of deleting the names of voters linked to the demolished settlement officials organised camps and continued the voter mapping processWe had brought to the notice of block level officials Electoral Registration Officer ERO that Garib Nagar settlement which was illegal unauthorised has been demolished few weeks back Names of those voters should have been removed he statedLetter seeks Election Commission interventionSeeking action Somaiya urged the Election Commission of India to examine the alleged irregularities and initiate appropriate proceedings against the officials concernedWe request the Election Commission of India to take appropriate action against the officials Somaiya wrote in the letterThere has been no immediate response from the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer or the Election Commission of India regarding the allegations made by the BJP leaderSIR exercise underway across MaharashtraThe allegations come as the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is being carried out across Maharashtra to verify and update voter recordsThe exercise is intended to ensure the accuracy of the electoral roll ahead of future elections Somaiyas claims are allegations made in his letter and no official findings have yet been announced by the Election Commission regarding the matter