Voter data theft: BBMP's orders let NGO collect details

As the controversy surrounding the voter data theft is heating up, the BBMP has come under the scanner for authorising a Malleswaram-based NGO to collect electorate details in violation of the Election Commission’s mandate.

DH has accessed a total of 22 orders, issued by BBMP’s electoral officers to NGO Chilume Education, Cultural and Rural Development Trust for election-related activities between 2017 and 2022.

Initially, the BBMP had engaged the trust only for conducting Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities but, as years passed by, the same NGO was entrusted with responsibilities that went against free and fair election norms.

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In one of the orders issued in March this year by BBMP’s Hoodi division, the assistant revenue officer (ARO) had permitted Chilume not only to visit houses to revise electoral rolls but to seek cooperation from residents by sharing their voter ID and family member details.

Similar orders were also issued by electoral officers in RR Nagar and Mahadevapura.

Ahead of the Assembly elections, the NGO was also entrusted with the responsibility of undertaking special revision of electoral rolls, which is supposed to be carried out only by the booth level officers (BLOs).

Manoj Kumar Meena, chief electoral officer (CEO), said a private party can only be engaged for conducting SVEEP activities. “Even the special electoral roll revision cannot be outsourced to a third party,” he told DH.

BBMP’s Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said he has sought all details from all district electoral officers to ascertain the extent of electoral data collected by the NGO.

“We have filed a police complaint on two charges. One, the NGO was found visiting the houses wearing BBMP badges. Secondly, the trust has also collected personal details of the voters by violating the conditions,” he said.

The basis for suspicion of what is emerging as electoral data theft appears to be an order passed by BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Administration) in November, 2021. On the request of NGO Chilume dated November 16, the BBMP passed an order authorising the trust with election-related activities in RR Nagar four days later.

The order gives permission to create awareness about using Voter Helpline App by visiting all houses falling under the 381 polling stations of RR Nagar.

Citing the performance of the NGO, the BBMP issued a subsequent order in August this year, allowing the trust to carry out electoral-related activities in all 28 Assembly constituencies. The order went on to allow surveying of houses, merging Aadhaar number with voter card, revision of electoral rolls etc.

A preliminary investigation has found that a majority of the houses in RR Nagar, Mahadevapura and Chickpet Assembly constituencies have already been surveyed. Sources said the trust had deployed close to 15,000 workers on a contractual basis for undertaking field visits.

Some of the details that were asked during the survey include: Perception of the state government policies and programmes, mobile numbers of the voters, copy of the Aadhaar card etc.

The Regional Commissioner’s office, which has been entrusted with the task of probing the irregularities, has reportedly seized all files in connection with NGO Chilume from BBMP’s office.